SEA2 Technical Report on Cephalopod Ecology and Fisheries in the North Sea

The North Sea UK continental shelf is the focus of this Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA2) technical report. It provides an overview of cephalopod populations, ecology, and fisheries, discussing species like Loligo forbesi and Eledone cirrhosa. The report was contributed by the UK Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change) and is published as an HTML document.

Use Cases

• Assessing the potential impact of oilfield development on cephalopod populations based on the discussion of trace metal accumulation.
• Studying cephalopod distribution and abundance in Scottish waters based on information from commercial fishing by-catch.
• Analyzing the role of cephalopods in North Sea food webs based on descriptions of their predatory and prey relationships.
• Comparing fishery management statistics for different cephalopod species between the SEA2 area and adjacent regions.

Strengths

• Report provides a specific geographic focus on the Northern, Central, and Southern North Sea within the UK continental shelf.
• Includes concrete biological details on cephalopod life history, such as their short lifespan, rapid growth, and role as carnivores.
• Discusses specific species like the loliginid squid Loligo forbesi and the benthic octopod Eledone cirrhosa with notes on their commercial status.

Limitations

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

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service, originating from the UK Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change).

Collection Method

Likely compiled from scientific literature, commercial fishery data, and environmental assessment research.

Time Range

The report is part of the 2001 Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA2); temporal coverage of the underlying data is unspecified.

Freshness

Last updated date is unknown.

Geography

Covers the mature areas of the North Sea UK continental shelf, divided into Northern, Central, and Southern North Sea.