Data Management Plan

This data set contains sensitive biological resource data for marine, estuarine, diadromous, freshwater, and federally and/or state endangered, threatened, or rare fish species in Northwest Peninsular Florida. Vector polygons in this data set represent fish distributions, spawning and nursery areas, concentration areas, migration areas, and harvest areas. Species-specific abundance, seasonality, status, life history, and source information are stored in associated data tables (described below) designed to be used in conjunction with this spatial data layer. This data set is a portion of the ESI data for Northwest Peninsular Florida. As a whole, the ESI data characterize the marine and coastal environments and wildlife by their sensitivity to spilled oil, and include information for three main components: shoreline habitats, sensitive biological resources, and human-use resources.

Process Steps:

• 2016-12-01 00:00:00 - Emphasis was put on mapping the juvenile life stage for fish due to their comparatively high risk to an oiling event compared with adults. Adults, larvae, eggs, and spawning areas were mapped for a handful of species with high importance to the region based on a review with biological experts from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) Fish and Wildlife Research Institute (FWRI) and the University of Florida. The primary source for juvenile presence and seasonality information in nearshore and inshore habitats was the Fisheries Independent Monitoring (FIM) Stratified Random Sampling data set from the FWRI. The FIM Stratified Random Sampling data set is a conglomeration of juvenile fish surveys and includes species names, survey locations, and a catch per unit effort (CPUE), among other data. Juvenile fish species mapped based on this data set received qualitative concentration values (CONC) based on the results of a K-means test. This K-means test was run to create 3 distinct density categories (HIGH, MED, and LOW) for each species based on CPUE. These concentration categories were calculated separately for Tampa Bay, for surveys where CPUE = number of animals per 100 square meters, and for surveys where CPUE = number of animals per set. The primary source for juvenile presence and seasonality in Tampa Bay was a derived data set based on the FIM Stratified Random Sampling data set. To come up with this derived data set, statistical and spatial analyses were run on raw FIM data to determine patterns of community structure and to develop a spatial model for the changes in nekton community throughout the year in Tampa Bay (Santi and Whaley, 2017). Data mapped using sources other than the FIM Stratified Random Sampling data set were given concentration values based on various input sources. Ranging from lowest to highest, these values are: Rare, Low, Present, Common, Abundant, and Very High or Highly Abundant. Other sources of information came from NOAA, the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, the United States Geological Survey, the University of Florida, SEDAR (Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review), the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, fishbase.org, and Mote Marine Laboratory. Critical habitat, essential fish habitat, and some FIM survey data came in the form of vector digital data and were clipped to the AOI. SEAMAP trawl, reef fish, and plankton survey data as well as some FIM survey data, commercial fisheries landings data from the FWRI, and hogfish survey data from the FWRI were received as spreadsheets with geographic coordinates that were later transformed into a GIS format. Information received as written reports and/or written information on websites (eg. IUCN Red List and fishbase.org) was translated to a GIS format with the aid of bathymetric contours from NOAA and consultation with biological experts. See the Lineage section for additional information on the type of source data for this data layer. The ESI, biology, and human-use data are compiled into the standard ESI digital data format. A second set of interviews with participating resource experts are conducted to review the compiled data. If necessary, edits to the FISH data layer are made based on the recommendations of the resource experts and digital data are created.

Data can be accessed by downloading the zipped ArcGIS geodatabase from the Download URL (see Distribution Information). Questions can be directed to the ESI Program Manager (Point Of Contact).