Boarfish surveys have been carried out on commercial fishing vessels as part of an industry/science partnership. Boarfish surveys have taken place in the Celtic Seas around Ireland including the North Atlantic Ocean. They have taken place each July and have been collected since 2011. Outside of the spawning season many pelagic species were generally very scattered over a large geographical area and difficult to detect using acoustic methods. A cruise track was first formulated with data from previous surveys, commercial catch data and the help of the fishermen and fishing industry. Acoustic surveys for boarfish have been generally carried out on spawning and pre-spawning aggregations of boarfish to ascertain the abundance and distribution of the target species. Boarfish are the newest species surveyed by Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Services of the Marine Institute (Ireland). Data is 100% complete for the survey years since 2011.

Acoustic surveys have been generally carried out on spawning and pre-spawning aggregations of fish. Outside of the spawning season many pelagic species have been generally very scattered over a large geographical area and difficult to detect using acoustic methods. A cruise track was first formulated with data from previous surveys, commercial catch data and the help of the fishermen and fishing industry. This is the spatial dataset of the acoustic survey haul station locations undertaken during surveys. Acoustic surveys have taken place in the North Atlantic Ocean between Donegal and the west coast of Scotland; and in the Celtic Sea off the south coast of Ireland. Acoustic surveys have taken place on an annual frequency since 1999. Acoustic survey in fishing is one of the research methods that can detect the abundance of target species using acoustic detectors. For example, many pelagic fisheries are generally very scattered over a broad ocean and difficult to detect. Hence survey vessel with acoustic detector emits sound waves to estimate the density of plankton and fish shoal. Generally, the transducer is put under water, which is linked to an echo sounder in the vessel which records the shoals of fish as marks on a screen or paper trace. Then the density and number of marks are converted into biomass. Survey shot and haul stations have been based on acoustic survey data. The aim of an acoustic survey has been to determine the relative abundance of the target species. This information has been then used to determine catch rates and management advice for the following year. Acoustic surveys have been managed by the fisheries science section of the Marine Institute known as Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Services who coordinated the annual surveys on board the research vessel Celtic Explorer. Data is considered a complete record of stations including only those stations between 1999 and 2009 as published on Irelands Marine Atlas.

Catch weights data from a bottom trawl survey series: Trawl positions, duration and gear parameters; catch weights of the target species; length frequency distributions; age, sex and maturity. The target species are: cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, hake, black and white-bellied anglerfish, megrim, plaice, sole, herring, blue whiting, mackerel, horse mackerel, blonde ray, cuckoo ray, spotted ray and thornback ray. Data coverage is for the waters around Ireland from 10m to 180m in depth (Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, West and North of Ireland). The spatial coverage varied from year-to year. The sampling locations were selected from known fishing tracks while trying to ensure maximum spatial spread over the survey area. The surveys took place in February-March of 2004-2009. Samples were collected using a GOV bottom trawl (a scaled-down version of the IBTS standard, see: Manual for the International Bottom Trawl Surveys, ICES Survey Protocols SISP 1-IBTS VIII). The main purpose of the survey was to collect information on the length and age at which target species first reach maturity in the waters around Ireland. The surveys were carried out by the Marine Institute (Ireland) Fisheries Science team. All data collected on the survey are available.

The prawn (Nephrops norvegicus) are common around the Irish coast occurring in geographically distinct sandy/muddy areas were the sediment is suitable for them to construct their burrows. Nephrops spend a great deal of time in their burrows and their emergence from these is related to time of year, light intensity and tidal strength. Area of interest: - Aran Grounds - Irish Sea - Celtic Sea Beam trawl tows were conducted randomly once the UWTV stations have been successfully completed. Beam trawls are used to catch Nephrops for analysis.

Catch numbers data collected from a bottom trawl survey series: Trawl positions, duration and gear parameters; catch statistics of the target species; length frequency distributions; age, sex and maturity. The target species are: cod, haddock, whiting, saithe, hake, black and white-bellied anglerfish, megrim, plaice, sole, herring, blue whiting, mackerel, horse mackerel, blonde ray, cuckoo ray, spotted ray and thornback ray. Data coverage has been for the waters around Ireland from 10m to 180m in depth (Irish Sea, Celtic Sea, West and North of Ireland). The spatial coverage has varied from year-to year. The sampling locations have been selected from known fishing tracks while trying to ensure maximum spatial spread over the survey area. The surveys took place in February-March of 2004-2009. Samples were collected using a GOV bottom trawl (a scaled-down version of the IBTS standard, see: Manual for the International Bottom Trawl Surveys, ICES Survey Protocols SISP 1-IBTS VIII). The main purpose of the survey was to collect information on the length and age at which target species first reach maturity in the waters around Ireland. The surveys were carried out by the Marine Institute (Ireland) Fisheries Science team. All data collected on the survey are available.

The Atlas of Commercial Fisheries around Ireland reviews the fishing activity on fish stocks of relevance to Ireland that come under the EU Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The Atlas focuses on fishing opportunities (Total Allowable Catches – TACs), landings trends, fleet activity and the state of the resource in the waters around Ireland (principally ICES Sub-areas VI and VII). The Atlas also deals with fish stocks exploited by Ireland outside Sub-areas VI and VII. Every effort has been made to use the most up to date information available on fishing opportunities, landings, effort, and on the state of the resource base. The various ICES and STECF reports and databases together with various EU Regulations should be consulted for the definitive figures and regulatory articles. The Atlas was completed during 2009. The Atlas focus was on fisheries Data Collection, Data Management, Data Analysis, Conducting Assessments, Formulating and Providing Advice and Carrying out Scientific Research on Fish Stocks, both Nationally and Internationally. The Atlas focused on stock assessment to support European fisheries policy. Atlas completed by Marine Institute fisheries science teams. Data in atlas complete per publication date.

The Stock Book is the annual review of Fish Stocks in any given year, the latest being 2016, with management advice for the subsequent year. The Stock Book covers fisheries and fishing activities in the greater North Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and Saint Georges Channel around Ireland. The Stock Book covers data collected between 2011 and 2016. Fisheries scientific advice data includes information collected from surveys and fisheries models. Its purpose has been to provide the latest impartial scientific advice on the commercially exploited fish stocks of interest to Ireland. The Stock Book 2016 was the principal annual publication of the Marine Institutes (Ireland) Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Services (FEAS) section. The Stock Book was used by the Department of Agriculture, Marine and Food - (DAFM) at the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) negotiations with the EU in December 2016 and throughout the year at fisheries management meetings. Stock Book complete for year of publication in question.