Abalone Fishing Block 29: High-Resolution Acoustic Seafloor Habitat Maps, 2021

High-resolution acoustic data maps the fine-scale distribution of abalone habitat and urchin barrens on the east coast of Tasmania. The dataset provides a 2021 snapshot of seafloor habitats, including substrate type and kelp coverage, at a 50-centimeter resolution. Data products include bathymetry, substrate classification, derivatives, and water column data, produced by the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Use Cases

• Map fine-scale spatial distribution of key abalone habitat based on multibeam acoustic imagery.
• Identify and predict large urchin barrens using the acoustic water column technique described.
• Analyze substrate type and kelp coverage for strategic decision-making in marine management.
• Detect small incipient urchin barrens at the minimum quantifiable unit using high-resolution data.

Strengths

• Data provides a 2021 snapshot of seafloor habitats and vegetation distribution.
• Includes 50-centimeter resolution bathymetry and substrate type maps.
• Offers multiple data products: bathymetry derivatives, water column signal, and vegetation likelihood classification.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to data_gov_au, focusing only on specific Tasmanian fishing blocks.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Collected using multibeam acoustic imagery for mapping seafloor habitats.

Time Range

2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-28 22:00:38.408933; freshness should be verified.

Geography

East coast of Tasmania, specifically Fishing Block 29.