Irish Sea Fish Egg and Larvae Counts from 2010 Survey Voyages

Plankton samples collected during 15 survey voyages from 2006 to 2010 in the Irish Sea. The data consists of counts of fish eggs and larvae, along with positional data and volumes filtered. Samples were analyzed under a Cefas contract and the dataset is provided by the Government Digital Service.

Use Cases

• Modeling fish spawning biomass based on egg and larvae counts.
• Mapping the spatial distribution of fish eggs based on the positional data.
• Analyzing temporal trends in plankton communities from the 2006-2010 survey series.
• Calibrating plankton sampling equipment using the recorded volumes filtered.

Strengths

• Data collection involved 15 planned survey voyages, providing systematic spatial coverage.
• Survey series spans a 5-year period from 2006 to 2010, allowing for temporal analysis.
• Includes associated positional data, enabling geospatial analysis of findings.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Government Digital Service

Collection Method

Plankton samples collected using a fine mesh 'PUP' sampler attached to a Gulf VII sampler on a planned survey grid.

Time Range

2006 to 2010

Geography

Irish Sea