| Contributors | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Kleisner, Kristin | Northeast Fisheries Science Center - Woods Hole (NOAA NEFSC) | Principal Investigator |
| Allison, Dicky | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI BCO-DMO) | BCO-DMO Data Manager |
Biomass data of adult fish species of the Northeast U.S. Shelf; bottom trawl surveys were conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) between 1963-2013.
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) has conducted bottom trawl surveys for juvenile and adult fish on the Northeast US Shelf since 1963 (Azarovitz 1981). The surveys were conducted in the spring (March-April) and fall (September-October) using a stratified random design. All fish for each species were counted and weighed. These data represent kg of fish per tow. Zero means no fish of that species were caught in that tow.
Temperature and salinity values were obtained with a surface bucket for the temperature and a surface water sample was collected for a subsequent salinity measurement. In inshore areas, a bottom salinity was also taken.
References:
Azarovitz TR. 1981. A brief historical review of the Woods Hole Laboratory trawl survey time series. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 58:62-7. (PDF)
Biomass of adult fish was calculated yearly between 1963 and 2012 for spring and fall. The number of strata in the bottom trawl survey is 108.
Unlike the 'stratum' of the adult fish numbers data, the 'strata group' of the biomass data represents a code. For example offshore strata 1 is coded as 01010 with the first 01 representing the strata group, the second 01 the strata number and the last 0 the substrata (Only a few have these where a strata was broken in half). R truncates the 01 strata group to 1 so in R the offshore strata 1 is 1010. Inshore strata start with 03 and offshore south of Hatteras start with 08, inshore south of Hatteras 07, and shellfish 06.
References:
Azarovitz TR. 1981. A brief historical review of the Woods Hole Laboratory trawl survey time series. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 58:62-7. (PDF)
BCO-DMO Processing:
- Replaced spaces with underscores in taxa names.
- Modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions.
- Replaced 'NA' in environmental measurements with 'nd'. Replaced 'NA' in fish biomass columns with '0'.
| File |
|---|
adult_fish_biomass_rs.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 8.78 MB) MD5:95c4e6c4f7bbb26cac5d8c0dc76b605c Primary data file for dataset ID 637753 |
| Parameter | Description | Units |
| common name biomass | Biomass of each species, described by common name. | kg per tow |
| year | 4 digit GMT year | dimensionless |
| season | Spring or Fall | dimensionless |
| strata_group | 4 digit code. first digit is region, second two digits are stratum and last digit is subsample of stratum. Zero in the last digit means the strata was not subsampled. | dimensionless |
| lat | Strata latitude center in decimal degrees | decimal degrees |
| lon | Strata longitude center in decimal degrees | decimal degrees |
| cruise_id | Cruise Identifier is six-digit number representing the four digit year of cruise deployment and the two digit sequential cruise within that year. | numbers |
| vessel_abbrev | Two digit abbreviation for ship. AL=Albatross IV, etc. | two digit abbreviation |
| station | Sequential station number for each cruise_id. | number |
| depth | depth of the trawl | meters |
| temp_surface | temperature at the surface | degrees Celsius |
| sal_surface | salinity at the surface | dimensionless |
| temp_bottom | temperature at the bottom | degrees Celsius |
| sal_bottom | salinity at the bottom | dimensionless |
| site | general location of the tow; GOM: Gulf of Maine; SS: Scotian Shelf; MAB: Mid-Atlantic Bight;GB: Georges Bank | text |
| Dataset-specific Instrument Name | bucket for salinity sample |
| Generic Instrument Name | bucket |
| Dataset-specific Description | buckets were used to collect water for salinity samples at the surface and if not too deep, the bottom. |
| Generic Instrument Description | A bucket used to collect surface sea water samples. |
| Dataset-specific Instrument Name | bucket thermometer |
| Generic Instrument Name | bucket thermometer |
| Dataset-specific Description | thermometer encased in a small, thick plastic bucket with a rope attached.
|
| Generic Instrument Description | a thermometer embedded in a small, sturdy, thick plastic container with a rope attached. Heave the bucket overboard and it catches water and the thermometer inside reads the temperature. |
| Dataset-specific Instrument Name | |
| Generic Instrument Name | Otter Trawl |
| Dataset-specific Description | For specific details on the adult fish collection gear, see:
Azarovitz TR. 1981. A brief historical review of the Woods Hole Laboratory trawl survey time series. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 58:62-7. (PDF) |
| Generic Instrument Description | Otter trawls have large rectangular otter boards which are used to keep the mouth of the trawl net open. Otter boards are made of timber or steel and are positioned in such a way that the hydrodynamic forces, acting on them when the net is towed along the seabed, pushes them outwards and prevents the mouth of the net from closing. The speed that the trawl is towed at depends on the swimming speed of the species which is being targeted and the exact gear that is being used, but for most demersal species, a speed of around 4 knots (7 km/h) is appropriate. More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom_trawling |
| Website | |
| Platform | NOAA Ship Trawl-Survey-Vessel |
| Start Date | 1963-09-01 |
| End Date | 2008-12-31 |
| Description | This is a 'catch-all' deployment for 50 years of Fisheries surveys. |
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) has conducted bottom trawl surveys for juvenile and adult fish on the NEUS Shelf over the past four decades (Azarovitz 1981). The surveys were conducted in the spring (March-April) and fall (September-October) using a stratified random design. All fish for each species were counted and weighed. Literature values of the estimated median size at maturity (50th percentile) were used for most species to determine size at maturity and only mature adults were included the catch estimates.
References:
Azarovitz TR. 1981. A brief historical review of the Woods Hole Laboratory trawl survey time series. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 58:62-7. (PDF)
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