Cruise report for the 2017 Fisheries and Oceans and Oceana Canada mission using the ROPOS in the Gulf of St. Lawrence

A collaborative scientific expedition between Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Oceana Canada (a non-profit organization) took place between 23 and 30 August 2017 on the Canadian Coast Guard Ship Martha L. Black. Four sites in the Gulf of St. Lawrence were visited: 1) sea pen fields and sponge grounds in the Laurentian Channel North, 2) the American Bank area of interest, 3) the Cape Breton Trough Ecologically and Biologically significant Area, and 4) sea pen fields in the Laurentian Channel South. The ROPOS (Remotely Operated Platform for Ocean Science) was used for benthic imagery and sampling (organisms, water, and sediments). Nineteen stations were visited, from which the data obtained will serve to provide insight on benthic habitats, biodiversity, species associations, species biology, and pelagic-benthic coupling. This report provides the details of each activity and the data collected. The mission was promoted in social media in part through the partnership with Oceana Canada, an organization that enhances habitat protection by informing the general public about the ocean seafloor and scientific work.