This dataset contains information angler experiences and preferences for recreational fishing in the Gulf of Mexico.

Brown shrimp (Farfantepenaeus aztecus) are a commercially important fishery species of the northern Gulf of Mexico. Young shrimp settle in estuarine salt marsh habitats during the juvenile phase of their life history, and processes that occur during their residency affect growth, survival, and recruitment of sub-adults to the fishery. We developed an agent based model that simulates the cumulative effects of temperature, salinity, and access to emergent marsh vegetation on juvenile brown shrimp growth and survival. Our model is spatially articulate, with three habitat types and three salinity zones it functions on an hourly time step to track growth and survival of shrimp super-individuals from recruitment into the shallow nursery habitats at 10 mm total length until they reach 70 mm and move into deeper bay water. We have compared our modeled shrimp production with various abundance and biomass data from fishery independent surveys. Preliminary analysis shows similarities in seasonal patterns, but annual variability in resource survey data appears higher than our modeled estimates. We are continuing to explore larval recruitment patterns and trophic interactions as possible interacting factors. Ultimately, we hope to use inter-annual variability in production estimates to reduce uncertainty in the current stock assessment model used by the US National Marine Fisheries Service.

PURPOSE: This data relates to the Canadian Science Advice Secretariat (CSAS) Regional Science Advisory Process from the Limit Reference Point and Population Model Review of the Southern Gulf of Saint Lawrence Sea Scallop peer review meeting held on November 1-2, 2023. The SFAs 22 and 24 have been identified as the core scallop habitat within the sGSL for this process. Associated publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available. DESCRIPTION: Data on landings, fishing efforts, and catch per unit effort (CPUE) used in the stock assessment for southern Gulf of St. Lawrence (sGSL) sea scallop (_Placopecten magellanicus_) stock assessments and the limit reference point. The dataset contains corrected information from the following data sources: - DFO annual historic reports on landings and efforts - published documents about population assessments and surveys - logbooks, produced by DFO’s regional statistics - purchase slips, produced by DFO’s regional statistics - Catch per unit effort calculated by DFO's Science Branch Prior to 1947, data represents the combined landings that cannot be attributed to individual Scallop Fishing Areas (SFAs). USE LIMITATION: To ensure scientific integrity and appropriate use of the data, we would encourage you to contact the data custodian.

Raster data are derived from species distribution models, which are based on statistical species-habitat relationships (Guisan and Zimmermann 2000; Robinson et al. 2011). For Gulf of Mexico species, these data represent either probability of occurrence (pink shrimp Farfantepenaeus duorarum, red snapper Lutjanus campechanus age-1, lane snapper Lutjanus synagris age-0, lane snapper age-1, spinner shark Carcharhinus brevipinna, blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus) or relative abundance (brown shrimp Farfantepenaeus aztecus, white shrimp Litopenaeus setiferus, red snapper age-0, Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae) given a standardized survey. For South Atlantic species, these data represent probability of occurrence for red snapper (adults), black sea bass Centropristis striata (juvenile and adults), blacknose shark Carcharhinus acronotus, sandbar shark Carcharhinus plumbeus, and tiger shark Galeocerdo cuvier given a standardized survey. Shark predictions of relative abundance are in units of individuals per 100 hooks per hour of bottom longline survey. Shrimp and red snapper age-0 relative abundance predictions are in units of individuals per kilometer of trawl survey. Shark distributions are representative of spring, summer, and fall seasons combined. Other species are depicted in either summer, fall, or summer and fall seasons combined. Further details are available in Pickens and Taylor (2020).

A habitat model of sardine distrubtion in the California Current based on satellite remote sensing chlorophyll and sea surface temperature data from the MODIS Aqua ocean color sensor.

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories conducts standardized fisheries independent resource surveys in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean to provide abundance and distribution information to support regional and international stock assessments. The reef fish survey is conducted primarily on the outer continental shelf of the Gulf of Mexico along topographic features (e.g. reefs, banks and ledges) between Brownsville, TX to the Dry Tortugas, FL. A two-stage sampling design is used with the first stage or primary sampling units being blocks 10 minutes of latitude by 10 minutes of longitude and the second stage being randomly selected sites within the blocks. The first-stage units are selected by stratified random sampling, with stratum boundaries defined by geographic region (4 regions: South Florida, Northeast Gulf, Louisiana-Texas Shelf, and South Texas), and by reef habitat area (Blocks < 20 km² reef, Blocks > 20 km² reef). Sampling is conducted using a video camera array, vertical line gear and chevron traps with approximately 400 video cameras, 400 vertical line and 100 traps conducted. The camera array consists of four housings positioned orthogonally and center mounted at a height of 51 cm above the bottom of the array. Each housing contains a pair of black-and-white Videre stereo cameras along with a color mpeg camera. Sampling of reef sites with video cameras occurs only during daylight hours, with the first gear deployment one hour after sunrise and the last gear retrieval one hour prior to sunset. Video arrays soak for 35 minutes. At sites selected for fish sampling, a chevron (or arrow) fish trap or vertical line is used to capture fish for biological samples. The chevron fish trap is constructed with 1.5-inch vinyl-clad mesh. In its greatest dimensions, the trap is 1.76 m in length, 1.52 m in width and 0.61 m in depth. A 0.4 m by 0.29 m blow out panel is placed on one side and kept closed using 7-day magnesium releases. The fish trap soaks for one hour and is baited with squid. The vertical line consists of a mainline with 10 gangions. One 8/0, 11/0 or 15/0 circle hook is attached to each gangion and baited with mackerel (Scomber scombrus). The mainline is soaked for five minutes. Most of the animals captured are measured, weighed, tagged and then released. Those individuals which are moribund or have expired are retained to collect biological data pertaining to the life history of these fishes. Habitat mapping is conducted using the SIMRAD ME70 multibeam echosounder. At each site hydrological data is collected using Conductivity Temperature Depth sensor (CTD).

This is a point file of mean fish diversity within 5 minute grid cells. The Shannon Index of diversity was calculated from Southern California Coastal Water Research Project (SCCWRP) fish trawl data. Data from 425 fishery independent trawls ranging from 2-215 meters depth were collected in 1994 and 1998 during the months of June-August. Using ArcGIS, 5 x 5 minute grids were created and mean diversity was calculated for each grid cell containing data. Gear included a 7.6-m head-rope semi balloon otter trawl with 1.25 cm codend mesh trawled for 5-10 minutes at each station. Including all fish identified to the species level resulted in 150 fish species. For more information on trawl methods, see Allen et al. (1997), and Allen et al. (2003).

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories conducts standardized fisheries independent resource surveys in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean to provide abundance and distribution information to support regional and international stock assessments. Environmental profiles are acquired during all surveys and are averaged into one meter depth bins. The data are acquired with Sea-Bird SBE25 and SBE9 profilers equipped with water temperature, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, beam transmittance, and fluorescence sensors. The data are processed with Sea-Bird software using a standard processing protocol.

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories conducts standardized fisheries independent resource surveys in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean to provide abundance and distribution information to support regional and international stock assessments. Deepwater groupers, snappers and shrimp were sampled in the western Gulf of Mexico using a bottom trawl and bottom longline.