Juvenile Fish Trap Data from Salt River Bay Mangroves

Catch records from a fish trapping study in the mangrove fringe of Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve on St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands. The dataset, produced by NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, documents taxonomic identification, abundance, and length for fish captured between May 2018 and June 2019. Its presence on multiple federal data platforms indicates its established use for ecological assessment.

Use Cases

• Analyzing species composition and relative abundance of juvenile fish in mangrove habitats using taxonomic identification and abundance columns.
• Assessing size distributions of captured fish for growth or population structure studies using length data.
• Comparing fish assemblages between the east and west sides of Triton Bay and Sugar Bay within the estuary.
• Providing baseline data for monitoring changes in fish communities within a National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve.

Strengths

• Data collection covers a defined 13-month time range from May 16, 2018, to June 26, 2019.
• Study conducted within a specific, protected geographic area: Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, St. Croix, USVI.
• Dataset is hosted and maintained by authoritative federal organizations (NOAA, NASA).

Limitations

• Core descriptive metadata (exact row count, column names, license, author) is unavailable from the provided sources.
• A conflict exists in the 'last updated' date: Data.gov lists 2026-03 05 (likely a metadata refresh), while NASA Earthdata lists 2019-06-26 (the data collection end date).

Provenance

Source

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Department of Commerce, specifically NCCOS (National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science).

Collection Method

Field observation using fish traps deployed along the mangrove fringe.

Time Range

2018-05-16 to 2019-06-26

Freshness

2026-03-05 23:56:37.695642

Geography

Salt River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve, St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands; traps deployed in Triton Bay and Sugar Bay.