Iceland Scallop Commercial Catch Data for St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf

A dataset from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Quebec region contains biological measurements for the commercially exploited Iceland scallop (Chlamys islandica). It provides metadata, shell height, and counts of empty or full shells for all measured specimens. The data offers spatio-temporal coverage from 1985-2009 and 2011 to present, collected at wharves or at sea as part of a commercial catches sampling program.

Use Cases

• Analyze shell height distributions over time to assess population demographics and growth patterns.
• Model the relationship between fishing area, year, and the count of full versus empty shells to study stock health.
• Use metadata and temporal coverage from 1985 onward to track long-term changes in Iceland scallop population structure.

Strengths

• Data collection spans multiple decades, covering periods from 1985-2009 and 2011 to present.
• Includes specific biological measurements like shell height and shell counts (empty/full) for demographic analysis.
• Collected by specialized DFO staff with a mandate for biological data on commercially exploited species.

Limitations

• Some data fields like vessel information and precise capture dates are simplified or excluded to protect confidentiality.
• Entries where only one vessel operated in a fishing area for a given year were excluded, potentially creating gaps.
• The exact number of rows (specimens measured) and columns is not provided in the input.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO), Quebec region.

Collection Method

Collected at wharves or at sea by specialized DFO staff as part of the commercial catches sampling program.

Time Range

1985-2009 and 2011 to present.

Freshness

Data is updated to present, with a last platform update recorded as 2026-03-24.

Geography

Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence.