NOAA Coral Reef Fish Surveys in the Marianas Since 2014

The Marianas Archipelago is the geographic scope for this dataset of large-bodied fish surveys conducted by the NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program since 2014. Data were collected using a towed-diver method, recording fish species, counts, and sizes within visually estimated transects. The dataset is maintained by the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and archived at the National Centers for Environmental Information.

Use Cases

• Analyze population trends of large-bodied reef fish based on species and count observations.
• Assess biodiversity and species distribution across surveyed reef habitats.
• Model the relationship between fish size and survey location based on recorded size data.
• Monitor coral reef ecosystem health over time based on repeated survey methodology.

Strengths

• Data collection follows a standardized NOAA National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) methodology.
• Surveys cover a specific geographic region (the Marianas) with a consistent start year (2014).
• The towed-diver method is described as suitable for assessing relatively large areas of reef habitat.

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 surveyed Marianas region.

Provenance

Source

NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC), Coral Reef Ecosystem Program (CREP)

Collection Method

Towed-diver surveys following a ~15-m depth contour, with visual observations recorded in 5-minute segments.

Time Range

Since 2014

Freshness

Last updated 2026-03-14 23:01:31.173357; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Marianas Archipelago