Reef Visual Census (RVC) Fish Survey Protocols U.S. Atlantic: Florida, Flower Garden Banks, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands

Describes The RVC Fish Data Sample Collection Protocol that was in place for the 2021 Survey.

The National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP)'s biological sampling provides a biennial ecological characterization of general reef condition for reef fishes, corals, and benthic habitat (i.e., fish species composition, density, and size; coral species composition, density, size, condition; and benthic community cover) at a broad spatial scale (CRCP 2021). In the U.S. Atlantic, NCRMP biological sampling includes coral reef and hardbottom habitats in Florida, Flower Garden Banks, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI). NCRMP conducts surveys at stratified random sites where the sampling domain for each geographic region is partitioned by habitat type and depth, subregional location (e.g., along-shelf position), and management zone. NCRMP surveying provides data from a broader geographic context that complements regional and local (site-specific) coral reef monitoring. NCRMP Fish surveys are conducted using the Reef Visual Census (RVC) stationary point count method (Brandt et al. 2009). Fish surveys are conducted at all NCRMP biological survey sites and may occur concurrently with Coral Demographic/Benthic Assessment surveys.

Thiis is document found in the NOAA IR is also in the NCEi Archive

Suggested Citation

CRCP. 2022. National Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP) Reef Visual Census (RVC) Fish Survey

Protocols U.S. Atlantic: Florida, Flower Garden Banks, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands. 2022. NOAA

Coral Reef Conservation Program. 21 pp. doi: 10.25923/1baa-5g44