An Integrated Database and Portal for Fish Stomach Records (DAPSTOM)

In recent years considerable emphasis has been placed on finding 'ecosystem-based' approaches to fisheries management and multispecies models are seen as crucial for addressing this new agenda. However, there are currently, very few long-term datasets within the European context available for parameterising such models. Cefas scientists have collected almost 100 years worth of fish stomach content data, from the seas around the UK (North Sea, Irish Sea, Celtic Sea). Much of this data is now available in electronic form, through the DAPSTOM data portal.

The DAPSTOM project was initially financed through the 'data rescue' fund of the EU Network of Excellence "EUROCEANS".  The online database contains information (103927 records) on 82 predator species (most of those occuring in northern European groundfish surveys) and can be searched by predator name or by prey name for given sea areas and years. 

CSV data files can be outputted containing all the records from a particular query. The current database (version 1.5) contains information spanning 1968 - 2006. The database should be cited as: Pinnegar, J. K. & Stafford, R. (2007). DAPTOM - An Integrated Database & Portal for Fish Stomach Records. Database version 1.5. Centre for Environment, Fisheries & Aquaculture Science, Lowestoft, UK. Phase 1, Final Report, October 2007. www.cefas.co.uk/dapstom