Maritimes Fall Research Vessel Survey Catch and Biological Data

Fisheries and Oceans Canada's Maritimes Fall Research Vessel Survey contains catch and biological data from missions primarily in October and November, with some from September and December. The data includes total catch numbers and weights by species, with length frequency data for most species and age, sex, maturity, and weight information for a subset of individual animals.

Use Cases

• Analyze total catch in numbers and weights by species to assess seasonal fishery yields in the Maritimes region.
• Model species population dynamics using length frequency data available for most species.
• Investigate biological relationships using age, sex, maturity, and weight information for a subset of individual animals.

Strengths

• Data collected by the authoritative government agency Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
• Includes multiple biological measurements such as length frequency, age, sex, maturity, and weight for a subset of animals.
• Available in multiple accessible formats including CSV, ESRI REST, and FGDB/GDB.

Limitations

• The dataset does not include other collected data such as ageing material, genetic material, and stomach contents, which are stored elsewhere.
• The sample size for individual animal biological data (age, sex, maturity, weight) is only a subset of the total catch.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Population Ecology Division, Dartmouth, N.S.

Collection Method

Collected during fall research vessel survey missions.

Time Range

Missions occur primarily in October and November, with data also from September and December.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026, indicating active maintenance.

Geography

Maritimes region, Canada.