CIRO 2/81: North Sea Groundfish Survey with Benthic and Environmental Data

A survey conducted between 28 January 1981 and 13 February 1981 by Cefas on the vessel Cirolana. It includes station, catch, length, and biological data for 45 species from 118 stations in the North Sea, supporting EU regulations and the International Bottom Trawl Survey. The survey also collected benthic, water temperature, salinity, and litter data using standardized trawls and bottles.

Use Cases

• Modeling species distribution and abundance based on catch data from 118 stations.
• Analyzing fish length and biological parameters for selected species.
• Studying correlations between groundfish catches and environmental variables like water temperature and salinity.
• Assessing benthic community composition and marine litter presence in the North Sea.

Strengths

• Data collected over 118 stations, providing spatial coverage of the North Sea.
• Includes 45 different species, offering a multi-species perspective.
• Integrates biological catch data with environmental measurements like temperature and salinity.
• Uses standardized equipment (GOV trawl, Nansen bottles) as per International Young Fish Survey specifications.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Last update date is unknown; freshness unverified.

Provenance

Source

Cefas (Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science), part of the International Bottom Trawl Survey.

Collection Method

Research vessel survey using GOV trawls, frame trawls, and bottle casts.

Time Range

28 January 1981 to 13 February 1981

Freshness

Survey conducted in 1981; historical dataset.

Geography

North Sea