Isles of Scilly Benthic Survey for Trawling Impact Study

The Isles of Scilly district is the focus of a Before-After-Control-Impact study on bottom-towed fishing gear. A new byelaw will close 43% of the district to such gear while permitting up to six vessels to use otter trawl and scallop dredge, creating a unique research opportunity. Baseline data includes 45-minute BRUV video deployments and 100-meter TUV transects at sites both inside and outside the byelaw area.

Use Cases

• Quantifying changes in habitat complexity based on video and transect data.
• Assessing biodiversity impacts of resumed trawling using a BACI study design.
• Evaluating the effectiveness of a spatial fishery closure as a management tool.
• Monitoring benthic community recovery or change over time at reference sites.

Strengths

• Provides a unique baseline for a BACI study following a decade without trawling.
• Survey design includes both impact and control sites, allowing for comparative analysis.
• Cross-platform presence on eu_open_data and uk_data suggests recognized importance.

Limitations

• Critical metadata is missing: column names, row count, file size, and license are unknown.
• The dataset's structure and specific variables cannot be determined from available descriptions.
• The last update date (2026-03-25) is a future date, indicating potential metadata error.

Provenance

Source

University of Plymouth (UoP), likely in collaboration with government bodies.

Collection Method

Field survey employing 3x45 minute BRUV (Baited Remote Underwater Video) deployments and 2x100m TUV (Towed Underwater Video) transects per site.

Time Range

Survey ongoing from 2023.

Freshness

Last updated date reported as 2026-03-25, which is a future date and may be erroneous.

Geography

Isles of Scilly district, United Kingdom.