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.

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.

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.

The MEFEPO (Making the European Fisheries Ecosystem Plan Operational) project was made up of a group of ecologists, economists, management experts and fisheries scientists who are trying to make ecosystem based fisheries management (EBFM) a reality in Europe. EBFM seeks to support the; three pillars of sustainability’ (ecological, social and economic).The North Western Waters (NWW) area is situated in the north east Atlantic off the west coast of Ireland and Scotland, and extends into the Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and the English Channel. The NWW covers approximately 1.15 million km2 and comprises 12 ICES Divisions and three OSPAR regions. Parts of the EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) of three countries (UK, Ireland and France) make up the NWW. The majority of the NWW area is composed of water less than 100m deep (20%), while 17% lies between 100m and 200m (17%) and 20% between 1,000m and 1,500m. The MEFEPO Atlas project commenced in 2009 and was completed in 2011. The North Western Waters Atlas collected and produced data maps and text on area and depth, climate, water movements, sea temperature, sea floor habitat, contaminants and nutrients, plankton, nutrients, marine reptiles, seabirds, marine mammals, protected areas and fishing restrictions, elasmobranches, fishing activities and mariculture. The MEFEPO Atlas was produced to support ecosystem approach in fisheries science. The MEFEPO Atlas produced by University of Liverpool (UK), Instituto de Investigação das Pescas e do Mar (Portugal), Wageningen IMARES (Netherlands), Université de Bretange Occidentale (France), Marine Institute (Ireland), University of Tromsø (Norway), CEFAS (UK), Institute for Fisheries Management (Denmark), Universidad dos Acores (Portugal) and Instituto Espanol de Oceanografía (Spain). Atlas maps complete for edition published.

Irish Groundfish Survey shot and haul stations. The Irish Groundfish Survey covers fisheries trawl stations in the North Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and Saint Georges Channel around Ireland. The Irish Groundfish Survey has been a two-legged survey taking place each October-December since 2003. Irish Groundfish Survey has involved shot and haul stations at regular sites where fish species are caught and processed on board the Irish research vessel RV Celtic Explorer in the fisheries lab. The primary goal of the Irish Groundfish Survey has been to develop estimates of juvenile abundance for important fish species. Measurements of the abundance of juvenile fish are a critical measure of the health of a stock, serving as an annual indication of recruitment (the number of newly spawned fish which enter the population each year) success or failure. Most importantly, they allow forecasting of future commercial abundance. In addition, the Irish Groundfish Survey has provided data on the distribution and biology of commercial and non-commercial species of ecological interest, as well as hydrographic and environmental observations. When these data are combined with annual recruitment indices they can help identify the possible causes driving year-class success or failure, and allow us to see long-term changes in populations that may have been caused by fishing, pollution, or climate change. The Irish Groundfish Survey feeds into the International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS) for international reporting. The Irish Groundfish Survey has been managed by the Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Services (FEAS) section of the Marine Institute (Ireland). Data complete for each year survey has taken place.

Data indicates the location for line fishing activity in Irish waters. Attributes when known include year, area, gear type, species, season, days per year (Days_Year), number of vessels (Vessels), vessel size (LOA_Max), gear units, classification, Area of polygon (Area_M2), and data type. This dataset was created in support of the Natura 2000 risk assessment in 2013. Please note that this dataset represents line fishing activity of vessels <15 metres length in Irish waters.