Atlantic Wolffish Relative Occurrence in St. Lawrence 1971-2008

Spatial distribution data maps the relative occurrence of Atlantic Wolffish from groundfish surveys in the Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence. The dataset aggregates catch and effort data into 100 km² cells for the Québec (1978-2008) and Gulf (1971-2008) regions, calculating occurrence probability from set records. It supports analysis of species distribution across multiple time series from research surveys and the Sentinel Fisheries program.

Use Cases

• Model spatial-temporal changes in Atlantic Wolffish relative occurrence across the 100 km² grid cells from 1971 to 2008.
• Analyze catch probability patterns by correlating survey set data with seabed classifications from the associated hierarchical physiographic study.
• Map long-term distribution shifts by integrating data from the Québec and Gulf region survey programs.

Strengths

• Data spans 37 years for the Gulf region and 30 years for the Québec region, providing a long-term ecological series.
• Aggregation into standardized 100 km² cells enables consistent spatial analysis and mapping.
• Integrates data from multiple authoritative sources, including DFO research surveys and the Sentinel Fisheries program.

Limitations

• The underlying raw row count and specific column structure are not provided, limiting precise assessment of data volume.
• Data collection ended in 2008, making the time series potentially outdated for analyzing recent population trends.
• Method relies on the ratio of sets with a catch to total sets, which may obscure absolute abundance or biomass information.

Provenance

Source

Fisheries and Oceans Canada, based on work by Dutil et al. (2011).

Collection Method

Aggregated catch and effort data from annual DFO groundfish research surveys and Sentinel Fisheries using bottom trawls and a random stratified design.

Time Range

1971-2008 for Gulf region, 1978-2008 for Québec region.

Freshness

Data covers up to 2008; the platform record was last updated in March 2026.

Geography

Estuary and Gulf of St. Lawrence, Canada.