Analytical Data

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories has conducted standardized fisheries independent resource surveys since the 1980s. Surveys are conducted using various gears, including bottom longline, reef fish video cameras and traps, bottom and pelagic trawls, and plankton neuston and bongo nets. These surveys are conducted annually in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean Sea depending on the specific survey and provide estimates of relative abundance indices for commercially and recreationally important fish and shark species. In 2010, in response to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill the National Marine Fisheries Service initiated a sampling and analysis program to monitor the safety and health of the Gulf of Mexico resources. Various baseline datasets were also provided to the Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA) for inclusion in the evaluation of DWH impacts to the environment. Other analytical datasets developed by the Mississippi Laboratories include dissolved oxygen and other environmental parameter analyses, and abundance/distribution species maps.

To provide abundance and distribution information on Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean Sea fish and shark species. To provide fish and crustacean samples for evaluation of the impacts of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

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There are not restrictions or legal prerequisites for accessing this data.

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Validation routines are applied during data entry to ensure the integrity of data collected. Data validation routines are also applied as data are migrated into the centralized data management system.