Southern Australia Scalefish Research: Biological and Abundance Data from 1970s-1990s

Projects including exploratory trawl surveys and targeted fishery studies have yielded a dataset with biological, distribution, and abundance information for a diverse range of finfish species from South East Australia. These data were compiled into a single database covering collections made between the late 1970s and mid-1990s. The Australian Ocean Data Network hosts this compilation, which includes data from commercial catch sampling and specific fisheries like blue grenadier and orange roughy.

Use Cases

• Modeling population trends for commercial species like blue grenadier and orange roughy based on biological and abundance information.
• Analyzing historical species distribution patterns in shelf and slope waters off southern Australia based on survey data.
• Studying the biological characteristics of finfish species from the coastal reef fishery for live fish based on compiled sampling data.
• Comparing catch composition across different gear types (e.g., trawl, purse seine, gillnet) mentioned in the description.

Strengths

• Data covers a multi-decade time range from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s.
• Includes information from multiple survey types and fisheries, such as trawl, purse seine, and gillnet operations.
• Compiles biological, distribution, and abundance data for a diverse range of finfish species.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• The description notes selected data for key species were extracted into separate Access databases, indicating the main compilation may be incomplete.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Compiled from exploratory trawl surveys, targeted fishery studies, and commercial catch sampling (on board and market).

Time Range

late 1970s to mid 1990s

Freshness

Last updated 2026-07-16 03:18:42.578488; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Shelf and slope waters off southern Australia, South East Australia