Sablefish Standardized Trap Survey – Mainland Inlets
Fishing event (e.g., day, time, location, catch effort), and associated biological data from the Standardized Inlet Survey component of the annual Sablefish Research and Assessment Survey on the British Columbia coast.
Introduction
DFO and the Canadian Sablefish Association undertake a collaborative fishery-independent annual research survey under a joint agreement. The survey employs longline trap gear to obtain catch rate data, gather biological samples, capture oceanographic measurements, and collect tag release and recapture data.
Data summaries are provided here for standardized sets conducted at fixed stations within mainland inlets. The design of the sablefish survey has developed over time by incorporating and discontinuing components, including individual experimental studies (not available on OpenData). This Standardized Inlet Survey component differs in methodology from the other two survey components:
(1) Offshore stratified random survey (2003 – present; available on OpenData using link below), and
(2) Standardized trap survey – offshore indexing and offshore tagging (1990 – 2010; not yet available on OpenData).
For the Standardized Inlet Survey, sets are allocated to five specific polygons in each of the following four inlet areas: Portland Inlet, Gil Island, Finlayson Channel, and Dean/Burke Channel. All four inlets were surveyed consistently between 2003 and 2019. No inlets were surveyed in 2020, and a single inlet was surveyed each year since 2021. Survey procedures are standardized and documented in Canadian Technical Reports of Fisheries and Aquatic sciences.
Data tables provided for the Standardized Inlet Survey include (i) Effort, (ii) Catch, and (iii) Biological Information.
Inlet Effort
This table contains information about annual survey trips and fishing events (sets). Trip-level information includes the year the survey took place, a unique trip identifier, the vessel that conducted the survey and the trip start and end dates (the dates the vessel was away from the dock conducting the survey). Set-level information includes the inlet name, date, time, location and depth that fishing took place, soak time, and number of traps deployed. All successful fishing events are included, where successful sets are those that met survey design specifications.
Inlet Catch
This table contains the catch information from successful fishing events. Catch is identified to species or to the lowest taxonomic level possible. Catch is recorded as fish counts and / or weight. The unique trip identifier and set number are included so that catches can be related to the fishing event information (including capture location) for each set.
Inlet Biological Information
This table contains the biological data for sampled catches. Data may include any or all of length, weight, sex, maturity and age. Most of the sampled catch is Sablefish; however, some biological information has been collected for other species. Age structures are collected and are archived until required for analyses; therefore, all existing structures have not been aged. Tissue samples (usually a fin clip) may be collected for genetic (DNA) analysis for specific species. Tissue samples may be archived until required for analysis; for more information please see the data contacts. The unique trip identifier and set number are included so that samples can be related to the fishing event and catch information.
- Publisher - Current Organization Name: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
- Licence: Open Government Licence - Canada
Data and Resources
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Sablefish Standardized Trap SurveyCSVEnglish dataset CSV
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Sablefish Standardized Trap SurveyCSVFrench dataset CSV
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Survey Summaries -- Mainland InletPDFEnglish French guide PDF
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Reference Information – Mainland InletsPDFEnglish French guide PDF
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Data DictionaryCSVEnglish French guide CSV
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Sablefish Standardized Trap Survey – Mainland InletsESRI RESTEnglish web_service ESRI REST
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Sablefish Standardized Trap Survey – Mainland Inlets FrenchESRI RESTFrench web_service ESRI REST
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Sablefish Inlet Survey -- ShapefilesSHPEnglish dataset SHP
Contact Information
Delivery Point: Pacific Biological Station, 3190 Hammond Bay Road
City: Nanaimo
Administrative Area: British Columbia
Postal Code: V9T 6N7
Country: Canada
Electronic Mail Address: Maria.Cornthwaite@dfo-mpo.gc.ca