Assess/monitor effects of MPA status on reef fish populations and spawning aggregations in the Tortugas Ecological Reserves

We supply abundance information of fish species along multiple randomly oriented transects at the lowest possible taxonomic level. This information is collected from multiple stations on an annual or biennial basis.

Collection of fish abundance data for the assessment of effectiveness of marine protected areas in recovering overexploited fish populations in the Tortugas Ecological Reserves.

Logistic information - diver name, dive buddy, date, time of survey, station code, replicate no., transect bearing, visibility. Taxa presence - as the tape roles out at a relatively constant speed, the diver records all target fish species to the lowest taxonomic level possible that he sees. If the fish can only be identified to the family or genus level then this is all that is recorded. If the fish cannot be identified to the family level then no entry is necessary. Abundance & size - the number of individuals per species is tallied. Sizes were not recorded until 2010, although sporadic opportunistic sizes exist in the early years on some dives.

NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC/CCFHR

These data were prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data have been used by NOAA, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by NOAA in the use of these data or related materials. NOAA makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA can not assume liability for and damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.

Access is through the URL provided in the metadata.

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This data consists of two fish community surveys conducted in the offshore marine habitats of the Tortugas South Ecological Reserve and the Tortugas North Ecological Reserve of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. Original station selections for the South Reserve study were made based on habitat characterizations made from echosounders aboard a NOAA research vessel. Additional stations were added using knowledge and observations provided by local experienced fishermen used in the project. Original station locations for the North Reserve study were obtained from NCCOS CCFHR researchers at the Beaufort NOAA lab who had been conducting seagrass research in the North Reserve. One additional station was added using input from FWC's senior coral biologist. Over time, some changes were made to the universe of sampling stations and the frequency of sampling .

Not applicable

Visually proof data sheets as they are key-entered into computer database.

N/A

The data resides on a secure government network requiring multi factor authentication for network access.