CHMR 2/96: 1996 Western English Channel Groundfish Survey with 59 Stations

53 different species were caught during this survey, which was conducted by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas) between 03/10/1996 and 10/10/1996. The survey aimed to provide fisheries-independent abundance indices for sole and plaice, trawling 59 stations on the main sole grounds in English waters of the Western English Channel using chartered commercial vessels.

Use Cases

• Tuning ICES stock assessments based on fisheries-independent abundance indices mentioned in the description.
• Estimating recruitment of sole and plaice based on survey catch data.
• Analyzing species composition and biodiversity based on the 53 species caught.
• Studying spatial distribution of groundfish based on the 58-59 trawl station locations.

Strengths

• Survey operations were undertaken on 59 stations, providing spatial coverage.
• 53 different species were recorded, indicating biodiversity data.
• Part of a long-term survey series running from 1984 to 2013, suggesting 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.

Provenance

Source

Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas)

Collection Method

Survey undertaken on chartered commercial fishing vessels (Carhelmar) using 4m beam trawls, with Cefas staff on board.

Time Range

03/10/1996 to 10/10/1996

Freshness

Data is from a specific survey in October 1996; it is historical and part of a concluded series (1984-2013).

Geography

English waters of the Western English Channel