Atlantic Mackerel Commercial Catch Data from the St. Lawrence, 1976-Present

Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Quebec region maintains this dataset on Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus) commercial catches in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The data includes sample weight, fish length, sex, and specimen counts, collected at wharf or at sea from 1976-1977 and 1984 to present. It is used for stock assessment and demographic analysis of exploited populations.

Use Cases

• Modeling fish population demographics based on length and sex data.
• Analyzing long-term trends in commercial catches based on the time-series coverage.
• Assessing spatial distribution of catches based on the described fishing area metadata.

Strengths

• Data spans a long temporal range, covering periods from 1976-1977 and 1984 to present.
• Includes biological variables such as fish length, sex, and sample weight for demographic analysis.
• Collected by specialized DFO staff with a mandate for biological data collection.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Data has been simplified and some entries excluded to protect confidentiality, which may affect granularity.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada | Pêches et Océans Canada

Collection Method

Samples collected at wharf or at sea by specialized DFO staff as part of a commercial catches sampling program.

Time Range

1976-1977 and 1984 to present

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-24 08:14:07.870164; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence