Demersal Fish Abundance in the St. Lawrence Estuary and Gulf (2014-2023)

2014 to 2023 demersal fish abundance data from annual multidisciplinary surveys in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, with abundance expressed as individuals per normalized trawl set. The dataset includes 64 distinct species such as Atlantic Cod, Haddock, and Greenland Halibut, collected by Fisheries and Oceans Canada using standardized protocols.

Use Cases

• Analyze abundance trends for specific species like Atlantic Cod or Winter Flounder across the northern and southern Gulf from 2014 to 2023.
• Model spatial distribution of demersal fish species using survey data segmented by region (Estuary, northern Gulf, southern Gulf).
• Assess biodiversity by comparing species counts across the 64 listed demersal fish types over the 10-year survey period.
• Correlate fish abundance data with environmental conditions recorded during the August and September sampling missions.

Strengths

• Covers a 10-year time series from 2014 to 2023, providing a decade of temporal data for trend analysis.
• Includes 64 specifically named demersal fish species, enabling detailed biodiversity and species-specific studies.
• Data collection follows standardized protocols documented in scientific publications, ensuring methodological consistency.
• Surveys represent long-term monitoring efforts, with southern Gulf surveys ongoing since 1971 and northern since 1990.

Limitations

• The exact number of data rows, columns, and sample size is unknown, limiting precise assessment of dataset scale.
• Abundance is expressed per 'normalized trawl set,' which may require domain knowledge to interpret and compare accurately.
• Data is limited to specific annual survey periods (August for North, September for South), missing intra-annual variability.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Collection Method

Annual multidisciplinary bottom trawl surveys using standardized protocols.

Time Range

2014 to 2023

Freshness

Data is current through 2023, with the record last updated on March 24, 2026.

Geography

Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, segmented into northern and southern Gulf regions.