Identification
- Title
- NRW Marine Fish Surveys
- Abstract
Marine fish are used as an indicator of stock status, water and habitat quality. This dataset is made up of the species count and length values from the fish surveys conducted across Wales marine environment by Natural Resources Wales and former Environment Agency Wales. These surveys are conducted as part of on-going monitoring of fish in their natural environment for legislative requirements and to meet business drivers.
A strict methodology is applied when sampling for marine fish. There is a core network of sites which are regularly monitored. These sites are located in habitat types suitable for the respective fish species. In addition, sites may be sampled for investigative work, or on an ad hoc basis. Once a sample of fish is collected, they are immediately identified in the field, measured and counted and then released alive from where they were captured.
Redactions
Some information has be redacted to make the data openly available. This includes
- Third party data
- Data collected for ongoing investigations
- Cancelled or incomplete surveys
Update Frequency
This data is continually update with most changes made in the early autumn. Data from survey seasons is often not enter at the time of capture and can be several months before its is entered into the system. The external dataset is updated monthly to include new data, and may also contain corrections to previously published data due to quality assurance work.
Information Warnings
- Marine fish survey data is available from 1997 to present. A caveat being that historical data are sporadic until 2001. This is because fish survey data collected before 2001 were often saved in local databases and not the national ones (KiEco and formerly NFPD).
- Fish surveys are carried out by a range of survey methods, the data from one survey is not necessarily directly comparable to another. The user is recommended to check the survey method used in the data provided.
- We do our best to avoid data quality problems, but as these datasets reflect the data we hold, they may contain errors
- The data is provided as a set of related data tables due to the quantity and structure of the data. A basic understanding of fisheries science and relational databases is assumed.
Further Information
please see the following document for further information
The taxa data can also be viewed and downloaded from the NBN Atlas. Accessing the taxa data this way offers several advantages. It can be viewed alongside a wide range of taxa from other surveys conducted by various individuals and organizations. Furthermore, the taxa can be explored through its full taxonomic hierarchy via integration with the UK Species Inventory, which is the most comprehensive curated database of UK wildlife taxonomy and nomenclature.
Attribution Statement:
Contains Natural Resources Wales information © Natural Resources Wales and Database Right. All rights Reserved.
- Licence
- Open Government Licence for Public Sector Information (OGL)
-
Copyright:
- Publication date
- 22 April 2025
- Type
- Spatial data
- Regions
- Global
- Approved
- Yes
- Published
- Yes
- Featured
- No
- Group
- Natural Resources Wales
Information
- Spatial extent
- Projection system
- EPSG:27700
- Extension x0
- 146597.199797902
- Extension x1
- 355308.0
- Extension y0
- 164586.296917809
- Extension y1
- 395984.199957072
Features
Contact
- opendata@naturalresourceswales.gov.uk
- Organisation
- Natural Resources Wales
References
- Link online
- /layergroups/geonode:nrw_marine_fish_surveys
- Metadata page
- /layergroups/geonode:nrw_marine_fish_surveys/metadata_detail