A landscape view of Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jolis management and harvesting impacts in Southwestern Nova Scotia Canada

The harvesting of Ascophyllum nodosum (L.) Le Jolis resources of Nova Scotia and New Brunswick Canada are regulated by area-based management since 1989. The Tidal Organics Inc harvesting company has five leases with responsibility to manage large 928.5 h to 76677.7 h of the coastline. A mechanical harvester was introduced to Nova Scotia by Tidal Organics with (Global Positioning System) GPS charts of daily harvesting to 3-5 m. Tracking and landing data provides a comprehensive landscape view of resource utilization. GPS technology with traditional biomass sampling biomass and remote sensing of bed areas defined exploitation rates from the scale of bays to sectors .9 -17.6 ha, to beds 2.33± .47 ha to targeted polygons ha, .09 ± .01ha and swath of the cutter head 02± .15 N=30. Optimally harvestable biomass in Lunenburg Bay was 59% of the total and 4.6% was un-harvestable. The beds targeted by the mechanical harvester were exploited at 8.77 ± 9.06 % N=30 of harvestable biomass. The mechanical harvester was selective at the scale of .25m ² within the swath of the cutter head for A nodosum clumps, clump length, and shoots within clumps.