CHMR 2/05: Western English Channel Groundfish Survey, October 2005

A 2005 fisheries survey conducted by the Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas) aboard the vessel Carhelmar. The survey targeted 60 stations in English waters of the Western English Channel to provide fisheries-independent abundance indices for species like sole and plaice. Fifty-eight different species were recorded during the operations.

Use Cases

• Tuning stock assessments for sole and plaice based on the survey's fisheries-independent abundance indices.
• Analyzing species composition and biodiversity based on the 58 species caught during the survey.
• Studying spatial distribution of groundfish based on the 58 trawl stations on the main sole grounds.
• Comparing catch data across years based on the survey's annual series running from 1984 to 2013.

Strengths

• Survey operations were undertaken on 60 stations, providing spatial coverage.
• Fifty-eight different species were caught, indicating biodiversity data.
• The survey is part of a long-term series running from 1984 to 2013, enabling temporal analysis.

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

Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science (Cefas), aggregated by Government Digital Service.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

Survey took place between 06/10/2005 and -20/10/2005.

Freshness

Data is from a specific survey in October 2005; the series ended in 2013.

Geography

English waters of the Western English Channel.