SEAMAP Plankton Surveys

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories conducts standardized fisheries independent resource surveys in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean to provide abundance and distribution information to support regional and international stock assessments. The spring plankton survey (April-May) targets bluefin tuna and covers the entire Gulf of Mexico using a neuston and bongo net. The fall plankton survey (September) is conducted on the Gulf of Mexico continental shelf and assesses the occurrence, abundance and geographical distribution of the early life stages of fall spawning fishes, especially king and Spanish mackerel, red drum, and snappers. The winter plankton survey (February-March) assesses the occurrence, abundance and geographical distribution of the early life stages of winter spawning fishes, particularly grouper species and tilefish. The survey is conducted on the Gulf of Mexico continental shelf, the shelf edge, and deep waters. Plankton samples are also collected on other SEAMAP surveys including Summer and Fall Groundfish. All surveys conduct 24-hour sampling using neuston and bongo nets with approximately 200 stations per survey. The neuston net has a 1- by 2-m opening outfitted with a 0.947 mm mesh net, and is towed for 10 minutes through the surface waters for eggs and larvae. A 61-cm bongo net frame, with 0.335 mm mesh nets, is used at each station and tow times are no more than 25 minutes.

To provide abundance and distribution information on early life stages of Gulf of Mexico fish for use in regional and international stock assessments.

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NOAA NMFS does not approve, recommend, or endorse any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned in this publication. No reference shall be made to NMFS, or to this publication furnished by NMFS, in any advertising or sales promotion which would indicate or imply that NMFS approves, recommends, or endorses any proprietary product or proprietary material mentioned herein or which has as its purpose any intent to cause directly or indirectly the advertised product to be used or purchased because of this NMFS publication. NMFS is not responsible for any uses of these data sets beyond those for which they were intended, and NMFS makes no claims regarding the accuracy of any data provided by agencies or individuals outside NMFS. Acknowledgement of NOAA NMFS and SEAMAP would be appreciated in products derived or publications generated from this data.

At the end of each survey data are reviewed for accuracy/relevance by chief scientists. Specimens are sorted and identified at the Polish Sorting Center. Several species are re-examined by ichthyoplankton specialists at the SEFSC, following an established identification protocol to assure the accuracy and consistency of identifications over the time series.

Data resides in the laboratories’ centralized database (Oracle). Security patches are applied to the database and host environment immediately after their release. In addition, Security benchmarks are applied to the database and host environment. Data residing in the centralized database (Oracle) is backed up nightly. Backup sets are placed on the laboratories’ Networked Attached Storage (NAS) environment. Security patches/updates are immediately applied to the host environment. Data is stripped/mirrored using RAID 50 technology to protect data from disk failure. Nightly backups are preformed and files are written to magnetic tape and stored in an onsite / offsite location.

Prior to the early 2000s, station data were recorded on datasheets and entered manually into a computer database. Since that time, station data is collected using the Scientific Computing System (SCS) and environmental data is collected using a CTD system in real-time. Plankton samples are collected in fine mesh nets and preserved. These samples are sent to the Polish Sorting Center for sorting and identification of fish larvae and select invertebrates. Identified specimens are returned to the SEAMAP Ichthyoplankton archive in St. Petersburg Florida to be cataloged and entered into the centralized plankton database. Identified invertebrate specimens are returned to the SEAMAP invert archive at Gulf Coast Research Lab in Ocean Springs Mississippi.