NWIFCA Cockle Surveys for Stock Assessment, 1998 to Present

1998 to present, the North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NWIFCA) has conducted surveys of cockle populations across its district. The data, collected to inform fishery management, includes density, size relative to a 20 mm minimum landing size, and age. Samples are also taken for weighing and to produce length frequency tables to estimate stock biomass.

Use Cases

• Modeling cockle population density and growth based on survey data mentioned in the description
• Estimating total stock biomass on the seabed based on sample weight and length frequency
• Assessing fishery sustainability by analyzing size distributions against the 20 mm minimum landing size
• Informing adaptive management strategies by identifying areas with potential commercial stocks

Strengths

• Long-term time series starting in 1998, providing historical context
• Data collection is tied to a specific management objective (fishery management)
• Includes key biological metrics like density, size, and age

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

North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NWIFCA)

Collection Method

Field surveys conducted by authority officers, with samples taken for laboratory analysis.

Time Range

1998 - Ongoing

Freshness

Ongoing, but last update date is unknown

Geography

North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority district (UK coastal waters)