Quarter 4 Westerly groundfish survey (November - December)

Area

The survey area is the Irish Sea (ICES Division VIIa), Western English Channel (VIIe), Bristol Channel (VIIf) and Celtic Sea (VIIg-h). The southern and northern limits of the survey area are 48ºN and 55ºN respectively. The western and eastern limits are 9ºW and 2ºW respectively. This grid does not extend to the shelf edge, with all stations less than 150m deep.

Objectives

The Westerly ground fish survey has the primary objectives to obtain information on:

• The distribution, size composition and abundance of all fish, commercial shellfish and cephalopod species.
• The age-length distribution of selected species for ICES WG input and biological studies.
• Biological parameters of selected commercial species.

Secondary objectives are to collect data regarding the benthic, sedimentary and hydrographic environments, and to collect biological data in support of Cefas projects.

History

The quarter 4 westerly groundfish survey was initiated in 2002, though previous surveys operated in this area and at this time of year in the 1970’s and 1980’s. The survey in 2002 used a baca trawl and a Portuguese high headline trawl (PHHT), and was undertaken on the RV Cirolana. In 2003, the survey was conducted from RV CEFAS Endeavour and used a modified GOV trawl with rockhopper ground gear. This gear performed well on hard ground, and gear damage was minimal. Nevertheless, the use of rockhoppers is not appropriate for the entire survey area. Following on from discussions at the International Bottom Trawl Survey Working Group in 2004, it was decided that the survey should incorporate two gears, a rockhopper ground gear for use on hard ground, and the standard GOV trawl for other areas.

Results

Current survey results can be mapped by ICES rectangle from iSEA - interactive Spatial Explorer and Administrator