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A survey of the subtidal physical and biological features of the VEHEAP Harbours area (Victoria and Esquimalt Harbour, Gorge and Portage Inlet and Esquimalt Lagoon) with the intent of mapping the general distribution and position of physical and biological features for both inventory and harbour management purposes. The distribution of oysters on the seabed based on visual classification of each second of the video imagery as well as subsequent dive survey verification. Oyster distribution is mapped in one of two distribution categories, few to patchy and continuous to dense. Native or Olympia oyster, Ostrea conchaphila, is found primarily in the Gorge Waterway and Portage Inlet. This oyster grows on hard substrate (rock, man-made debris) in the Gorge but is found growing on clumped oyster shells in Portage Inlet where the substrate is silty sand. The Japanese or Pacific oyster, Crassostrea gigas, may also be present in the shallow subtidal but this larger species is more common in the intertidal zone in the harbour areas. |