Yellowtail Flounder Commercial Catches in St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf

Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Quebec region provides biological data on yellowtail flounder from commercial catches. The dataset includes metadata, sample weight, fish length, sex, and specimen counts, covering sampling years 1992, 1995, 1997-2010, 2012-2013, 2015-2017, and 2019. It supports stock assessments by offering spatio-temporal coverage of exploited populations.

Use Cases

• Analyze fish length distributions by sex and sample weight to study population demographics.
• Model temporal trends in specimen counts across the recorded years to assess stock health.
• Investigate relationships between biological variables like sex and length for demographic structure analysis.

Strengths

• Data collected by specialized DFO staff with a mandate for biological data collection.
• Covers multiple non-consecutive years from 1992 to 2019, providing a long-term view.
• Includes specific biological measurements: sample weight, fish length, sex, and specimen count.

Limitations

• Row and column counts are unknown, limiting assessment of dataset scale.
• Data excludes entries where only one vessel was in a fishing area per year, potentially creating gaps.
• Capture dates are simplified and vessel information is excluded to protect confidentiality.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Quebec region.

Collection Method

Sampling of commercial catches at wharf or at sea by DFO staff.

Time Range

1992, 1995, 1997-2010, 2012-2013, 2015-2017, 2019.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026, indicating recent maintenance.

Geography

Estuary and northern Gulf of St. Lawrence.