Title:
Fish and epibenthic invertibrates from Albatross IV otter trawl survey, June 1999
Abstract:
The NMFS/USGS survey of the southern part of Closed Area II was conducted in June, 1999 on 2 cruises: NMFS Albatross cruise ALB9905, June 2-9 (this cruise is also designated as USGS ALBA9933); and USGS R/V Connecticut cruise CONN9912, June 23. Study sites (1A, 2A, MMS1/2D, etc.) are part of a pre-determined grid of sites designed to sample the southern part of Closed Area II (south of 40o 30'N) and the area around its margins open to fishing that lies within approximately 2 nm of the western, southern, and eastern boundaries of Closed Area II. See files ca21999datatypes.pdf and ca21999datatypesB.txt for a tabulation of the kinds of data and the number of replicates collected at each study site. NMFS otter trawl, CTD, and benthic invertebrate stations use station numbers that are the same as the study site numbers (1A, 2A, etc.). USGS video/photo transect and sediment sample stations at the same study sites use a different numbering system (9906001, 9906002, etc.). See files ca21999datatypesA.pdf and ca21999datatypesB.txt for a list of NMFS and equivalent USGS station numbers. On the ALB9905 cruise, a suite of data was collected from each study site that included: 1) otter trawl sample of fish and epibenthic invertebrates; 2) benthic invertebrate samples from seabed sediment; 3) water column CTD (conductivity, temperature, pressure) profile; 4) 20-minute video/photo drift transect and sediment samples for texture and organic carbon analyses. In most cases, the sediment sample was collected at the end of the transect. On the CONN9912 cruise, later in June, only video/photo imagery and sediment texture samples were collected at five sites (3A, 3C, 4B, 5A, 5C) with the same sampling system that was used on the Albatross cruise. Of these 5 sites, only site 4B was sampled on the Albatross cruise (otter trawl and CTD cast only). Otter trawl and CTD stations are designated 1A, 2A, etc. and use the same numbering as the study sites. For locations of otter trawls, see files ca21999trawlstaA.pdf and ca21999trawlstaB.txt. For locations of CTD stations, see files ca21999datatypes.pdf and ca21999datatypesB.txt Otter trawl data include statistics on the catch of 33 species of fish, lobsters, and sea scallops. The otter trawl results were used to plot the species abundance maps for the following species: Alewife, Ocean Pout, American Plaice, Polloc,k Atlantic Cod, Redfish, Atlantic Herring, Red Hake, Atlantic Mackerel, Sea Raven, Barndoor Skate, Sea Scallop, Butterfish, Silver Hake, Fawn Cusk Eel, Spiny Dogfish, Summer Flounder, Goosefish, Thorny Skate, Gulfstream Flounder, White Hake, Haddock, Windowpane Flounder, Illex, Winter Flounder, Little Skate, Winter Skate, Lobster, Witch Flounder, Loligo, Yellowtail Flounder, Longhorn Sculpin.
Benthic invertebrate stations are designated 1A, 2A, etc. and use the same numbering as the study sites. They are located at the start of each otter trawl tow. For locations of benthic invertebrate stations, see files ca21999invertstaA.pdf and ca21999invertstaB.txt. See files ca21999datatypes.pdf and ca21999datatypesB.txt for the number of replicates collected at each station. Video/photo transects and sediment sample stations are designated 9906001, 9906002, etc. They are associated with the study sites (1A, 2A, etc.) described above, but use a different numbering system. See files ca21999datatypesA.pdf and ca21999datatypesB.txt for a list of NMFS and equivalent USGS station numbers. For locations of video/photo transects and of sediment samples (texture and organic carbon), see files ca2usgsstaA.pdf and ca2usgsstaB.txt. Individual seabed photographs at each station are shown as jpg images and include information on location, water depth, and sediment texture. Photographs are arranged in rows from left-to-right, top-to-bottom, in the order that they were taken during the video/photo transect.
