Cefas 2004 Young Fish Survey: 84 Stations in the Thames Area

84 stations were surveyed in the Thames area between August 22 and 31, 2004, as part of the International Young Fish Survey. The survey, undertaken by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas), collected station, catch, length, and biological data to evaluate the recruitment of Sole and Plaice and the abundance of small fish. 80 different species were caught using a 2-meter beam trawl.

Use Cases

• Modeling recruitment indices for Sole and Plaice based on biological data collected during the survey.
• Analyzing species diversity and community structure based on the 80 species caught.
• Studying spatial distribution of young fish based on station data from 84 sampling locations.
• Comparing catch per unit effort over time using standardized beam trawl methodology.

Strengths

• Survey operations were undertaken on 84 stations, providing spatial coverage.
• Data includes biological samples for target species (Sole and Plaice) and length data for all 80 species caught.
• Uses a standardized gear type (Beam Trawl 2m shrimp net fryma liner 3 chains) for consistent sampling.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to a single survey in late August 2004.

Provenance

Source

Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas)

Collection Method

Beam trawl survey operations at predefined stations.

Time Range

2004-08 22 to 2004-08-31

Freshness

Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Geography

Thames area, around the British Isles (predominantly the South and East coasts)