Cefas 1998 Western English Channel Groundfish Survey: 58 Stations, 64 Species

A fisheries-independent survey conducted by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas) in October 1998. The survey sampled 58 trawl stations on sole grounds in the Western English Channel, recording 64 different species. It was part of a long-term series from 1984 to 2013 aimed at providing abundance indices for stock assessments.

Use Cases

• Modeling sole and plaice population trends based on the survey's focus on these species.
• Analyzing species diversity and community composition based on the 64 species recorded.
• Calibrating stock assessment models using the fisheries-independent abundance indices mentioned.
• Studying trawl survey methodology and catch efficiency based on the described beam trawl equipment.

Strengths

• Survey details are precisely documented, including 58 stations and 64 species caught.
• Provides a specific temporal snapshot from a long-term series running from 1984 to 2013.
• Clear methodological description of using chartered commercial vessels with standardized beam trawls.

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.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to a single survey in October 1998.

Provenance

Source

Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas)

Collection Method

Trawl survey using chartered commercial fishing vessels (Bogey 1 and Carhelmar) with 4m beam trawls.

Time Range

Survey conducted from 07/10/1998 to 14/10/1998.

Freshness

Data is historical, collected in 1998 as part of a series ending in 2013.

Geography

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