Date and time; Fish and shellfish catch statistics

Pelagic trawl nets

The primary goal of the Irish Groundfish Survey is 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 Bottom Trawl Survey provides 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. This spatial dataset comprises the shot station location from the trawl survey. The Irish Groundfish Survey feeds into the International Bottom Trawl Survey with reports.

Marine Institute
Rinville
Oranmore
Co. Galway
H91 R673
Ireland