Number of industrial activities may affect the fish and its habitat, including exploitation of oil and gas, mining, chemical industries, maritime transport and electricity generation. In order to support and to wisely manage these activities to ensure they have a minimal impact on ecosystems, policy decisions and regulations fair and informed must be taken. Hence, the Directorate of Environmental Sciences DFO focus its scientific expertise on the environmental impacts that must be taken into account in decision-making.
 
Hydroelectricity industrial activities
It is expected that the production of hydroelectricity in Canada continues to increase during the next decade. But hydroelectric dams can profoundly disrupt the flow of rivers dammed. The change in flow regimes and the creation of reservoirs restraint unfortunately affect the migration and survival of fish, and the food chains on which they depend.
 
Hydroelectricity
Research results on the flows necessary for the survival of fish used to improve the design of hydroelectric facilities and operating practices, consistent with the goals of conservation and protection of the Fisheries Act. We also are conducting research on the effects of creating reservoirs restraint on the availability of mercury, because the resulting floods may lead to high levels of this heavy metal in water and fish.
 
 The Exploits River, Newfoundland, which has one of the biggest ski of Atlantic salmon in North America, is an example of successful scientific management of fisheries. Two large hydroelectric dams and several Pulp and paper along its course. For several decades, the MPO has conducted research on the environmental impacts of these facilities in order to increase production to salmon in the basin.
 

 Environmental Research Center on oil and gas offshore In light of recent problems global oil supply and exorbitant costs of oil, activities related to offshore hydrocarbons have experienced a revival on the coasts of Canada. The moratorium imposed on the exploitation of oil and gas resources off the BC is being re-evaluated and, in Atlantic Canada, the activities of exploration and exploitation of oil and gas are rising. The oil exploration in the Mackenzie Delta and the Beaufort Sea is also renewed interest.
 
Thanks to our skills and our targeted scientific research, we are able to provide policy-makers DFO scientific advice and timely informed that used to formulate policies on conservation of marine ecosystems.
 
The Department of Environmental Sciences DFO acquire scientific knowledge on marine ecosystems by implementing a national program coordinated thematic research, focused on the impacts of activities related to offshore hydrocarbons on these ecosystems. We also provide data and scientific advice to support the conservation and protection of marine ecosystems and the sustainable use of aquatic resources.
 
Toxic Contaminants
There are more than 35 000 chemicals in commercial circulation in Canada. We do not know the toxicity of most of these products, because there is very little data. To better understand their impact on fish habitat and fisheries resources, DFO conducts research on toxic order to provide the advice necessary to take decisions on regulations and policies.
 
The goals of research on toxic chemicals are to establish biological effects they have on aquatic ecosystems and understand how these effects affect the health of fishery resources. The research on toxic affect a wide range of topics ranging from cellular level at the grassroots level, such as ecosystems, whether freshwater or sea and sources of toxic products (agriculture, municipal wastewater, energy development, Pulp and paper, aquaculture) and adapted to the realities of a range of federal laws [p. ex. Fisheries Act, Oceans Act, Act Canadian Environmental Assessment, Pest Control Products Act]. To understand these issues and be able to provide advice to them, the skills of one researcher not enough, but the skills of a team of researchers, usually multidisciplinary, multisectoral and multi.
 
 The National Information System on contaminants (SNIC) is a computerized warehouse of information on toxic chemical compounds present in fish and other aquatic life forms and their habitats. The SNIC, which contains millions of entries dating back to 1970 years, was established as a management tool increasing amounts of data and information on contaminants.