Crown-of-thorns starfish (COTS) control program : Voyage data - Catch per Unit of Effort (

The Cairns to Lizard Island region of the Great Barrier Reef is covered by this dataset from the Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators (AMPTO). It contains records from 64 ten-day voyages by two control vessels between July 2013 and January 2015, detailing work activities, catch per unit effort, eradicated starfish size and count, and coral cover estimates. The data was collected using Reef Health Impact Surveys (RHIS) during control dives to protect high-value tourism sites.

Use Cases

• Modeling crown-of-thorns starfish population density based on Catch per Unit of Effort (CPUE) data.
• Assessing the impact of control efforts on coral cover over time using the site-level coral cover estimates.
• Analyzing operational efficiency by comparing work activity types (Dive, Transit, etc.) across 64 voyages.
• Studying the size distribution of eradicated starfish to understand population demographics.

Strengths

• Data spans 64 distinct ten-day voyages, providing repeated operational snapshots.
• Includes multiple measured variables: CPUE, starfish size and count, and coral cover estimates.
• Covers a defined geographic area (seven target areas in the main tourism region off Cairns and Port Douglas) and time period (July 2013 - Jan 2015).

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the tourism-focused control areas.

Provenance

Source

Association of Marine Park Tourism Operators (AMPTO), via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Data collected during control voyages using Reef Health Impact Surveys (RHIS) during systematic dives.

Time Range

July 2013 to January 2015

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-10 22:22:53.137297; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Great Barrier Reef, specifically the Cairns to Lizard Island region, including seven target tourism areas.