Cefas CHMR 1/89: Western English Channel Groundfish Survey, 1989

Cefas conducted the Western English Channel Groundfish Survey from 1984 to 2013 to provide fisheries-independent abundance indices for sole and plaice. This specific 1989 survey, CHMR 1/89, sampled 57 trawl stations aboard the vessel Carhelmar between September 26 and October 3, catching 51 different species. The data are used to tune ICES stock assessments and estimate recruitment.

Use Cases

• Modeling sole and plaice population trends based on fisheries-independent abundance indices.
• Analyzing species diversity and composition in the Western English Channel based on the 51 species caught.
• Calibrating stock assessment models for ICES working groups using the survey's catch data.
• Studying the spatial distribution of groundfish across the 58 designated trawl stations on the main sole grounds.

Strengths

• Survey operations were conducted on 57 specific stations, providing structured spatial coverage.
• Data collection targeted 51 different species, indicating broad taxonomic recording.
• The survey is part of a long-term series running from 1984 to 2013, offering potential for temporal analysis.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas)

Collection Method

Annual survey using chartered commercial fishing vessels (Bogey 1 and Carhelmar) with Cefas staff onboard, employing 4m beam trawls.

Time Range

1989-09 26 to 1989-10-03

Freshness

Data is historical, collected in 1989 as part of a series ending in 2013.

Geography

Western English Channel, specifically English waters on the main sole grounds.