1981 Eastern Irish Sea Groundfish Survey Catch Data from Silver Star

A series of groundfish surveys were carried out on the fishing vessel Silver Star from 1976 to 1991 in the eastern Irish Sea. This dataset contains the catch data from the three surveys conducted during 1981, including numbers at length by centimetre for main commercial fish species and station positions by area. The data was aggregated by the Government Digital Service.

Use Cases

• Analyzing historical fish population length distributions based on the recorded numbers at length by centimetre.
• Studying spatial distribution of commercial fish species based on the recorded station positions by area.
• Modeling temporal changes in groundfish communities by comparing this 1981 data with other years in the 1976-1991 series.
• Assessing catch composition for commercial species based on the summary table for other species from cruises 02/81 and 03/81.

Strengths

• Data is part of a consistent time series collected from the same vessel (Silver Star) over a 15-year period (1976-1991).
• Surveys used a standardized method (Boris Goshawk trawl towed for an hour), suggesting methodological consistency.
• Includes a summary table for other species from two specific cruises, providing broader ecological context.

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 from the fishing vessel Silver Star.

Time Range

1981 (part of a series from 1976 to 1991)

Freshness

Data collection concluded in 1991; the dataset is historical.

Geography

Eastern Irish Sea