Australian vessels fishing in the Commonwealth managed fishery for Patagonian Toothfish and mackerel icefish in the Heard Island and MacDonald Island area deployed conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) loggers attached to their fishing gear. In most cases CTDs were deployed on demersal longlines but in some cases they were attached to trawl nets and traps. Data were collected on five fishing vessels during the fishing seasons of 2019/20 and 2020/21 The data were collected with a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth Recorder) from the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at St Andrew’s University Scotland. Files were downloaded with their TagConfig software in text (.txt) format. Recordings were made at (typically) 1 second intervals for the duration of the fishing event, recording data throughout the water column while setting the gear, then while fishing on the sea floor and again through the water column when the gear was retrieved. Each data file has data on date/time, pressure referenced to surface pressure (dbar), absolute pressure (dbar), temperature (°C), conductivity *mS/cm) and salinity (psu). The data are currently not linked to geographical coordinates which are confidential, but these may be able to be released on contact with the data owner and subject to appropriate confidentiality arrangements. Number of deployments: 2019/20: 25 2020/21: 27

Data collected from plankton collecting gear aboard the NOAA Ship NANCY FOSTER during cruise #NF0805, March 11th - March 24th, 2008 as part of the Coral Reef Ecosystem Research (CRER) project and from inshore larval collections in St. Thomas April 1-8th, 2008. Data are in spreadsheet format. Each file contains a header that describes the column data within.

To support a long-term NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) for sustainable management and conservation of coral reef ecosystems, from 20100904 to 20100929, reef fish assessment surveys were conducted, as a part of Rapid Ecological Assessments (REA), during the Pacific Reef Assessment and Monitoring Program (RAMP) Cruise HA1007 in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands region by the Coral Reef Ecosystem Division (CRED) at the NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC). During the cruise, 27 REA sites were surveyed at French Frigate in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands region. At each REA site, fish biologists entered the water and conducted a fine-scale (~700 m^2) and high degree of taxonomic resolution REA survey to assess and monitor species diversity, size distribution, and abundance of fish in shallow-water hard-bottom (less than 30 m) habitats. Reef fish assessment surveys were focused on cataloging the diversity (species richness), abundance (numeric density) and biomass (fish mass per unit area) of diurnally active reef fish assemblages. The stationary point count (SPC) method was used to quantify reef fish species. Two divers lay out a 30 m transect line, and position themselves at the 7.5 and 22.5 meter marks. The SPC biologist then records estimated size and abundance of all fish within a visually estimated 15-m diameter cylinder centered on the stationary diver (7.5-m radius, total area ~ 177m^2 per cylinder). The diver first spends 5 minutes identifying all fish species in the cylindrical area, then proceeds to count and estimate size (total length) for each in a series of "instantaneous" point counts or sweeps of the cylinder. Fish were identified at the species level, wherever possible. All reef-associated fish, including those in the water column, were surveyed. The survey time for each stationary point count survey was approximately 20 min and generally four stationary point count surveys (two per diver) were conducted at each fish REA site. After completing REA surveys, divers noted the presence, at the survey site, of any unusual fish species not counted during SPC counts, in order to facilitate species lists per location.

The data set consists of two products. The first product are maps that represent fish average densities collected by active hydroacoustic survey technique in the water column along a transect for each monthly sample. These data are also compiled by location by year. The fish density data is plotted over a bathymetric map. The second product are Excel spreadsheets with a summary of the integration of fish echoes over a sampling period that is used to produce the first product by location.

Reef fish populations are part of one of the most complex ecosystems in the marine environment. They are also the most heavily exploited part of the ecosystem and have been pushed to extremely low levels throughout South Florida and the wider Caribbean. Despite the importance of these populations, relatively little is known about most stages of their life cycles or their interaction with small and mesoscale oceanographic patterns. Important information such as adult spawning behavior, location, and depth of spawning aggregations and recruitment is mostly unknown. Less is known about the status of these fish populations in the western Caribbean along the Meso-American reef system, though stocks there are generally considered to have suffered less exploitation. There are also significant gaps in our understanding of the complex circulation patterns along the western Caribbean Seas Yucatan coast where the Caribbean Current and the Loop Current connect and flow into the Gulf of Mexico. This area plays a potentially important but still un- known role in the route of subtropical gyre circulation which drives the biological production and transport of larvae throughout this region. This research project is designed to provide a baseline study of the fisheries oceanography of the western Caribbean during winter spawning and provide a basis for future fisheries management decisions. What is the level of larval dispersal and recruitment connectivity within and amongst the Mesoamerican reef, the Dry Tortugas, and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuarys reserves Is there evidence of self-recruitment within these marine reserves

Open Ocean to Inner Sea, Leg 1 (FK009A, EM710)

This fish and benthic composition database is the result of a multifaceted effort described below. The intent of this work is five fold: 1) To spatially characterize and monitor the distribution, abundance, and size of both reef fishes and macro-invertebrate (conch, lobster, Diadema); 2) To relate this information to in-situ data collected on associated benthic composition parameters; 3) To use this information to establish the knowledge base necessary for enacting management decisions in a spatial setting; 4) To establish the efficacy of those management decisions; and 5) To work with the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program to develop data collection standards and easily implemented methodologies for transference to other agencies and to work toward standardizing data collection throughout the US states and territories. Toward this end, the Center for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment's Biogeography Branch (BB) has been conducting research in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands since 2000 and 2001, respectively. It is critical, with recent changes in management at both locations (e.g. implementation of MPAs) as well as proposed changes (e.g. zoning to manage multiple human uses) that action is taken now to accurately describe and characterize the fish/macro-invertebrate populations in these areas. It is also important that BB work closely with the individuals responsible for recommending and implementing these management strategies. Recognizing this, BB has been collaborating with partners at the University of Puerto Rico, National Park Service, US Geological Survey and the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources.To quantify patterns of spatial distribution and make meaningful interpretations, we must first have knowledge of the underlying variables determining species distribution. The basis for this work therefore, is the nearshore benthic habitats maps (less than 100 ft depth) created by NOAA's Biogeography Program in 2001 and NOS' bathymetry models. Using ArcView GIS software, the digitized habitat maps are stratified to select sampling stations. Sites are randomly selected within these strata to ensure coverage of the entire study region and not just a particular reef or seagrass area. At each site, fish, macro-invertebrates, and benthic composition information is then quantified following standardized protocols. By relating the data collected in the field back to the habitat maps and bathymetric models, BB is able to model and map species level and community level information. These protocols are standardized throughout the US Caribbean to enable quantification and comparison of reef fish abundance and distribution trends between locations. Armed with the knowledge of where "hot spots" of species richness and diversity are likely to occur in the seascape, the BB is in a unique position to answer questions about the efficacy of marine zoning strategies (e.g. placement of no fishing, anchoring, or snorkeling locations), and what locations are most suitable for establishing MPAs. Knowledge of the current status of fish/macro-invertebrate communities coupled with longer term monitoring will enable evaluation of management efficacy, thus it is essential to future management actions.

This data contains an eastern Pacific fish assemblage associated with a 2.5 hectare coral reef located within the boundaries of Coiba National Park, Panama. From 1980 to 2010, consistent, quantitative coral reef and fish survey monitoring methods have been applied at Uva Island reef, which lies in area that has received virtually no fishing pressure or watershed development over the past 80 years.