White Hake Commercial Catch Data for St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf

Quebec's Department of Fisheries and Oceans collected biological data on commercially caught white hake (Urophycis tenuis) through a sampling program at wharves and at sea. The dataset includes metadata, sample weight, fish length, sex, and specimen counts, covering the periods 1989-1990 and 1992-1993. This information supports assessments of stock demography and population structure in the region.

Use Cases

• Analyze fish length distributions by sex to study growth patterns and sexual dimorphism in white hake.
• Assess sample weight and specimen count data to estimate catch composition and biomass for specific fishing areas and years.
• Use the metadata and temporal coverage (1989-1990, 1992-1993) to track changes in white hake population demographics over time.

Strengths

• Data collected by specialized DFO staff with a mandate for biological data collection on commercially exploited species.
• Provides a relatively large spatio-temporal coverage of the Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence.
• Includes key biological variables such as fish length, sex, and specimen count for demographic analysis.

Limitations

• Limited temporal coverage, with data only from two distinct, non-consecutive periods (1989-1990 and 1992-1993).
• Data has been simplified (e.g., capture dates) and some entries excluded to protect confidentiality, which may impact granularity and completeness.
• Unknown sample size (row count) and specific column structure, limiting precise assessment of dataset scale and variables.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Quebec region.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

1989-1990 and 1992-1993.

Freshness

null

Geography

Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.