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2024 Fall Bottom Trawl Survey Completed in Northeast

In 2024, we mark the 61st year of our Fall Bottom Trawl Survey.

New England/Mid-Atlantic

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A mass of pouch-like egg cases are piled together on a darker background. The ends of the egg cases have spiral tendrils.
Chain dogfish egg cases caught during the spring 2024 Bottom Trawl Survey. Ironically chain dogfish are in the catshark family. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Catherine Foley

On November 12, Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff finished the 2024 Fall Bottom Trawl Survey aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow. They conducted resource survey tows and temperature and salinity sampling at 371 of 377 planned stations (98 percent completion). They sampled for plankton at 115 of 116 planned stations (99 percent completion).

This year’s fall survey occurred in three legs, moving from south to north. It got underway on September 6.

The Henry B. Bigelow supports a variety of marine research on this multispecies bottom-trawl survey. The most important of its missions is to monitor the region’s fishery resources. These data are critical inputs to regional fish stock assessments. They help inform fishery management decisions by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils as well as Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

This survey monitors fishery stock abundance and distribution on the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf from Cape Lookout, North Carolina, to the Scotian Shelf. Data collected are used to track fish ages, lengths, weights, sex, maturity, and food habits.

The temperature and salinity profiles we also collect during the survey help link fish distribution to physical oceanographic conditions. The ichthyoplankton (larval fish and eggs) we collect help with understanding spawning distributions and with estimating changes in fish abundance. The zooplankton (tiny animals and immature stages of some larger ones) we collect tell researchers about the ocean food web. We use these data to construct models that support ecosystem-based approaches to fisheries management.

Bottom Trawl Stations in the Mid-Atlantic

A chart showing the U.S. East Coast and adjacent ocean waters. A dots and triangles mark the location of each completed station.
Northeast Fisheries Science Center 2024 Fall Bottom Trawl Survey completed stations in the Mid-Atlantic. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Bottom Trawl Stations in the Gulf of Maine

A chart showing the U.S. East Coast and adjacent ocean waters. Dots and triangles mark the location of each completed station.
Northeast Fisheries Science Center 2024 Fall Bottom Trawl Survey completed stations in the Gulf of Maine. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

Percentage of Completed Bottom Trawl Stations

A chart showing the U.S. East Coast and adjacent ocean waters. A color overlay shows the trawl survey strata and the percent of planned stations completed in each. The majority of strata were 76 to 100 percent sampled.

Percentage of Completed Plankton Stations

A chart showing the U.S. East Coast and adjacent ocean waters. A color overlay shows the survey strata and the percent of planned stations completed in each. The majority of strata were 76 to 100 percent sampled.
Northeast Fisheries Science Center 2024 Fall Bottom Trawl Survey percent of planned plankton stations that were completed in each survey stratum. Credit: NOAA Fisheries

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Last updated by Northeast Fisheries Science Center on 12/04/2024

Northeast Bottom Trawl Survey 60th Anniversary Northeast Bottom Trawl Survey