Marine Fish Age Structures from Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence

Fish otolith and skate vertebrae collections from scientific surveys and commercial fisheries in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada, support age-structured stock assessments. The data includes summary counts of otoliths available by year and month for seven fish stocks, including Atlantic Cod and Winter Flounder. Associated biological parameters like length, weight, age, and observed sex are available upon request.

Use Cases

• Analyze age and length relationships for Atlantic Cod in NAFO Divisions 4T/4VN to model growth patterns.
• Compare otolith availability by year and month across White Hake, American Plaice, and Skate species to assess sampling effort for stock assessments.
• Investigate sex-specific differences in weight and age for Winter Flounder and Yellowtail Flounder populations.
• Use digitally imaged and annotated otoliths from the reference collection to train or validate automated age estimation models.

Strengths

• Data originates from Fisheries and Oceans Canada's scientific surveys and observer programs, an authoritative government source.
• Includes a reference collection of otolith images with authoritative annotations for technician training and calibration, ensuring consistency.
• Covers seven distinct fish stocks in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, including cod, hake, and multiple flounder species.

Limitations

• The core dataset is a summary of otolith counts; detailed biological data (sex, length, weight, age) is not directly available and requires a separate request.
• Specific sample sizes, row counts, and the complete temporal range are not provided in the available metadata.
• Geographic scope is limited to the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (NAFO Divisions 4R, 4S, 4T, 4VN), not a global or national collection.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Otoliths and vertebrae collected from scientific surveys, fisheries observers on vessels, and scientific sampling of commercial fisheries, with age determination performed yearly.

Time Range

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Freshness

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Geography

Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada (NAFO Divisions 4T, 4VN, 4RST)