Irish Sea and Cardigan Bay. Grids of plankton stations up to 10 nautical miles apart.

Zooplankton and zoobenthos morphological parameters; Electrical conductivity of the water column; Salinity of the water column; Temperature of the water column; Zooplankton taxonomy-related abundance per unit volume of the water column; Zooplankton taxonomy-related biomass expressed as carbon per unit volume of the water column; Zooplankton and zoobenthos development stage parameters; Zooplankton egg hatch proportion

Plankton recorders; plankton nets; CTD

A series of 11 plankton surveys aimed at providing an independent assessment of the size of the spawning stocks of cod, plaice and sole in the Irish Sea. 3 other labs participated : dept of the marine, Dublin; DANI, Belfast; Port Erin Marine Lab, Isle of Man. 4 grids were sampled by CEFAS - 5 sets of samples were analysed. Each grid consisted of 90-106 samples; fish eggs, fish larvae and Nephrops larvae were sorted and identified. Cod plaice sole eggs were staged, as were nephrops larvae.

Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science (Cefas), Lowestoft Laboratory
Pakefield Road
Lowestoft
Suffolk
NR33 OHT
United Kingdom