1980 Eastern Irish Sea Groundfish Catch Data from Silver Star Surveys

Three surveys conducted in 1980 aboard the vessel Silver Star recorded numbers at length by centimetre for main commercial fish species in the eastern Irish Sea. Fishing was performed using a Boris Goshawk trawl towed for an hour at recorded station positions. The data was aggregated by the Government Digital Service from a time series of surveys that ran from 1976 to 1991.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical fish stock abundance based on recorded numbers at length.
• Analyzing spatial distribution of commercial species based on station positions by area.
• Studying temporal changes in groundfish communities using the 1976-1991 survey series context.
• Assessing trawl survey methodology by examining catch data from standardized one-hour tows.

Strengths

• Data originates from a standardized survey series conducted over 15 years (1976-1991).
• Includes specific spatial references with station positions by area.
• Records detailed biological measurements with numbers at length by centimetre.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Surveys conducted using a Boris Goshawk trawl towed for an hour.

Time Range

1980 (part of a series from 1976 to 1991)

Freshness

Historical data from 1980; last update unknown.

Geography

Eastern Irish Sea