Project: Northeast Fisheries Science Center Bottom Trawl Survey

Acronym/Short Name:NEFSCBottomTrawl
Project Duration:1977-01 -2008-12
Geolocation:Northeast U.S. Shelf Ecosystem from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to Cape Sable, Nova Scotia

Description

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) has conducted bottom trawl surveys for juvenile and adult fish on the NEUS Shelf over the past four decades (Azarovitz 1981). The surveys were conducted in the spring (March-April) and fall (September-October) using a stratified random design. All fish for each species were counted and weighed. Literature values of the estimated median size at maturity (50th percentile) were used for most species to determine size at maturity and only mature adults were included the catch estimates.

References:
Azarovitz TR. 1981. A brief historical review of the Woods Hole Laboratory trawl survey time series. Canadian Special Publication of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 58:62-7. (PDF)