Dataset: Scup and windowpane flounder length frequency counts

Name: Scup and windowpane flounder length frequency count for study of windowpane flounder catch using scup gear and a Large Mesh Belly Panel (LMBP), October 2015 (Windowpane Bycatch project)
Published: 2017-03-16
Keywords: biota, oceans

Cite This Dataset

DOI:10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.686539.1

Spatial Extent: N:41.3333 E:-70.6667 S:40.8333 W:-71.5

Temporal Extent: 2015-10-07

Project:

Small Mesh Fishery Bycatch Reduction in the Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic Windowpane Flounder Stock Area (Windowpane Bycatch)

Program:

NorthEast Consortium (NEC)

Principal Investigator:

Emerson C Hasbrouck (Cornell University, Cornell)

Contact:

Kristin Gerbino (Cornell University, Cornell)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

Nancy Copley (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI BCO-DMO)

Version:

Version Date:

2017-03-16

Restricted:

Validated:

Yes

Current State:

Final no updates expected

Scup and windowpane flounder length frequency count for study of windowpane flounder catch using scup gear and a Large Mesh Belly Panel (LMBP), October 2015 (Windowpane Bycatch project)

Abstract:

This dataset reports the length frequency count of scup and windowpane flounder caught in each haul. Data was collected from paired tows to determine if a large mesh belly panel effectively reduces the catch of windowpane flounder in the small mesh scup fishery with existing gear and fishing practices. The data was analyzed to determine the statistical level of difference between the control and experimental nets for the targeted scup catch and for the windowpane flounder catch, should a difference exist.

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Archival Copy

Version Date	Archive	Persistent Identifier	Date Assigned
2017-03-16	Marine Biological Laboratory/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Library (MBLWHOI DLA)	10.26008/1912/bco-dmo.686539.1	2021-03-03

Methods & Sampling

Hauls were made in southern New England marine waters encompassing approximately 2000 square miles extending from Point Judith, RI in the west to Martha’s Vineyard, MA in the east and extending south to include Rhode Island Sound and portions of the Atlantic Ocean.

Subsamples of the catch were taken during each tow for length frequency distribution analysis. For each tow, 100 individual length measurements were taken for scup and windowpane flounder. All fish were measured if there were less than 100 per tow. The subsample length frequencies were expanded to the entire catch [www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/686700] to determine the length frequency distribution for the catch. For each tow, the total catch numbers at length were calculated as the subsample numbers at length multiplied by the species-specific ratio of catch weight to subsample weight. Catch numbers were calculated for each net as the sum of the expanded numbers at length per tow. Each length bin includes fish that are within 0.5 cm of the bin value.

The methodology is available in the final report (pdf). See Supplemental Files section.

Data Processing Description

BCO-DMO Processing Notes:
- added conventional header with dataset name, PI name, version date
- modified parameter names to conform with BCO-DMO naming conventions
- reduced number of significant digits of individual weights (wgt_fish_avg) due to sampling precision methods

Data Files

File
len_freq_counts.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 18.59 KB) MD5:68eca2fac82ffc5a8a0a61133e810bc4 Primary data file for dataset ID 686539

Supplemental Files

File

Small Mesh Fishery Bycatch Reduction in the Southern New England/Midatlantic Windowpane Stock Area
filename: CCE_Windowpane_Scup_Final_Report_111516.pdf

(Portable Document Format (.pdf), 4.83 MB)
MD5:ca92acdd509050168719dff5050eee77

A Final Report to The Northeast Consortium and The New England Fishery Management Council Groundfish Research Program Agreement No. 15-033 Period of Performance: 3/1/15 – 8/31/16

More Information about this dataset

Funding Sources

Funding Source	Award Number
NorthEast Consortium	15-033

Deployments

Deployment	Start Date	Platform	Investigator
Sea_Breeze_Too-trip1	2015-10-07	F/V Sea Breeze Too	Phillip Ruhle (Captain)	data info
Sea_Breeze_Too-trip2	2015-10-15	F/V Sea Breeze Too	Phillip Ruhle (Captain)	data info
Sea_Breeze_Too-trip3	2015-10-18	F/V Sea Breeze Too	Phillip Ruhle (Captain)	data info
Sea_Breeze_Too-trip4	2015-10-21	F/V Sea Breeze Too	Phillip Ruhle (Captain)	data info
Elizabeth_and_Katherine-trip1	2015-10-07	F/V Elizabeth & Katherine	Steve Arnold (Captain)	data info
Elizabeth_and_Katherine-trip2	2015-10-15	F/V Elizabeth & Katherine	Steve Arnold (Captain)	data info
Elizabeth_and_Katherine-trip3	2015-10-18	F/V Elizabeth & Katherine	Steve Arnold (Captain)	data info
Elizabeth_and_Katherine-trip4	2015-10-21	F/V Elizabeth & Katherine	Steve Arnold (Captain)	data info

Instruments

Trawl_custom

Supplied Name:

Supplied Description:

Experimental net with the large mesh belly panel and small mesh typical of that used in scup fishery along the East Coast of the US. The nets used for this project were 286 x 16cm, 4-seam, 3-bridle standard otter trawls. The 286 x 16cm refers to the circumference of the fishing circle (286 meshes around of 16 cm mesh to form the circle) and nets of this size are appropriate for vessels with horsepower in the range of 400hp to 550hp. The net was constructed with 16cm (full mesh) webbing in the wings and jibs. The bunt and the 1st bottom belly were constructed from 12 cm mesh. The top square, top bellies, and the side panels were constructed from 8cm Dyneema webbing. The last belly section, top, and bottom were 6cm PE webbing. The codend was constructed of 5" regulation mesh used in the scup fishery. Flotation for this trawl was provided by 48 -8" floats mounted on the headrope. The sweep of the trawl was constructed of 2-3/8" and 3" rubber discs on wire rope. The sweep was comprised of three pieces totaling 2400cm or 78.72 feet in length. The headrope height was approximately 16 feet high. This net was then modified by Jon Knight of Superior Trawl to include the LMBP. The large mesh panel for this project was made from 5mm poly webbing and the mesh size was 80cm or approximately 32 inches knot-center to knot-center diamond mesh. The actual panel was 2 meshes deep and was sewn into the standard 12cm (5”) mesh of the 1st bottom belly using a "saw-toothing" technique. Similar to the SNECRI project, this results in an effective area for fish escapement of 3 full 32 inch meshes, or an opening in the belly of the net that is approximately 8 feet deep from front to back. The LMBP attached approximately 1 foot (2.5 meshes/12cm) behind the footrope and extended widthwise across the entire belly of the net (from gore to gore) for 30 meshes of 32 inch diamond mesh.

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Trawl_custom

Acronym: Custom Trawl

Community Identifier: http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/L05/current/23/

Generic Description:

A net towed through the water column designed to sample free-swimming nekton or fish, varies in design depending on the research project.

Parameters

Date and time formats are described in python strftime() syntax.

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
wgt_fish_avg	average weight of individual scup or windowpane flounder calculated by dividing “Count” by “Total Pounds”	pounds	weight
treatment	Control net or net with large mesh belly panel	unitless	treatment
species	fish species: scup or windowpane flounder	unitless	species
count	Number of fish measured in subsample	fish	count
len_10cm	number of fish of length 10 centimeters	fish	count
len_11cm	number of fish of length 11 centimeters	fish	count
len_12cm	number of fish of length 12 centimeters	fish	count
len_13cm	number of fish of length 13 centimeters	fish	count
len_14cm	number of fish of length 14 centimeters	fish	count
len_15cm	number of fish of length 15 centimeters	fish	count
len_16cm	number of fish of length 16 centimeters	fish	count
len_17cm	number of fish of length 17 centimeters	fish	count
len_18cm	number of fish of length 18 centimeters	fish	count
len_19cm	number of fish of length 19 centimeters	fish	count
len_20cm	number of fish of length 20 centimeters	fish	count
len_21cm	number of fish of length 21 centimeters	fish	count
len_22cm	number of fish of length 22 centimeters	fish	count
len_23cm	number of fish of length 23 centimeters	fish	count
len_24cm	number of fish of length 24 centimeters	fish	count
len_25cm	number of fish of length 25 centimeters	fish	count
len_26cm	number of fish of length 26 centimeters	fish	count
len_27cm	number of fish of length 27 centimeters	fish	count
len_28cm	number of fish of length 28 centimeters	fish	count
len_29cm	number of fish of length 29 centimeters	fish	count
len_30cm	number of fish of length 30 centimeters	fish	count
len_31cm	number of fish of length 31 centimeters	fish	count
len_32cm	number of fish of length 32 centimeters	fish	count
len_33cm	number of fish of length 33 centimeters	fish	count
len_34cm	number of fish of length 34 centimeters	fish	count
len_35cm	number of fish of length 35 centimeters	fish	count
len_36cm	number of fish of length 36 centimeters	fish	count
len_37cm	number of fish of length 37 centimeters	fish	count
len_38cm	number of fish of length 38 centimeters	fish	count
len_39cm	number of fish of length 39 centimeters	fish	count
len_4cm	number of fish of length 4 centimeters	fish	count
len_5cm	number of fish of length 5 centimeters	fish	count
len_6cm	number of fish of length 6 centimeters	fish	count
len_7cm	number of fish of length 7 centimeters	fish	count
len_8cm	number of fish of length 8 centimeters	fish	count
len_9cm	number of fish of length 9 centimeters	fish	count
tow	tow number	unitless	tow
trip	trip number	unitless	cruise_id
wgt_total_lbs	weight of scup or windowpane flounder measured in the subsample	pounds	weight

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Dataset: Scup and windowpane flounder length frequency counts