Fish Behavior and Catch Rates Before and After a 2015 Marine Seismic Survey in Bass Strait

Geoscience Australia Data provides a dataset quantifying fish behavior and commercial catch rates in relation to a 2-D marine seismic survey conducted in the Gippsland Basin, Bass Strait, Australia in April 2015. The study combines field-based acoustic telemetry data for three shark and flathead species with a desktop analysis of Commonwealth fisheries logbook data from January 2012 to October 2015 for 15 species. The research, published in Marine Environmental Research in 2018, found limited evidence for seismic survey-induced changes in the targeted species.

Use Cases

• Modeling changes in fish swimming speed and diel movement patterns based on acoustic telemetry data before, during, and after a seismic event.
• Analyzing differences in commercial catch rates for 15 species using logbook data from two gear types (Danish seine, gillnet) over a multi-year period.
• Comparing behavioral responses between species (e.g., gummy shark, swell shark, tiger flathead) in experimental versus control zones.
• Investigating potential correlations between seismic survey operations and subsequent increases or decreases in catch for specific fish species.

Strengths

• Combines two distinct data sources: field-based acoustic telemetry and multi-year (Jan 2012 – Oct 2015) commercial fisheries logbook data.
• Study design includes both an experimental zone and a control zone for comparative analysis.
• Research is peer-reviewed and published in a scientific journal (Marine Environmental Research, 2018).

Limitations

• Behavioral data were limited as many acoustically tagged sharks left the receiver array before the seismic survey commenced.
• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count and dataset scale are unknown, which may limit suitability assessment for large-scale modeling.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Field study using acoustic tagging and monitoring, combined with analysis of Commonwealth fisheries logbook data.

Time Range

Acoustic monitoring in April 2015; logbook analysis from January 2012 to October 2015.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-30 13:03:08.495867; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Gippsland Basin, Bass Strait, Australia.