British Fisheries Catch and Effort Charts from 1913 to 1981

UK fisheries statistics from the Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas) provide annual and monthly landings, catch rates, and fishing effort data for the period 1913-1981, excluding World Wars. The data is presented at a fine spatial scale, showing values for each 1° longitude by 30' latitude rectangle (ICES rectangles) and for entire ICES fishing areas. These statistics are contained within unpublished PDF charts.

Use Cases

• Modeling historical fish stock abundance based on catch rates per species mentioned in the description
• Analyzing spatial fishing effort patterns based on fleet component data mentioned in the description
• Studying long-term trends in commercial landings based on the annual and monthly statistics
• Mapping historical fishing activity based on the ICES rectangle spatial scale described

Strengths

• Covers a long temporal range from 1913 to 1981, providing over six decades of data
• Offers fine spatial resolution at the level of ICES rectangles (1° longitude by 30' latitude)
• Includes multiple metrics: landings, catch rates per species, and fishing effort for fleet components

Limitations

• Data format is PDF, which requires extraction and parsing before computational analysis
• Row count, column definitions, and file sizes are unknown, limiting suitability assessment
• Last update date and license information are unknown

Provenance

Source

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft, UK

Collection Method

Unpublished historical 'Statistical Charts' held at Cefas

Time Range

1913-1981 (excluding periods of both World Wars)

Freshness

Historical data covering up to 1981; last update date for the catalogue is unknown.

Geography

UK waters, charted areas generally equivalent to ICES fishing areas