Mackerel Egg Survey Stations

Each station has Id, time, date, position, sample and bottom depth, water temperature at 5m, 20m, 50m, 100m and maximum sample depth where appropriate, salinity at 20m, volume of water filtered during the tow, and Stage 1 egg counts for mackerel and horse mackerel. The Mackerel Egg Survey covers marine grounds in the North Atlantic Ocean, Celtic Seas and Bay of Biscay between Ireland and France.

The survey has been running since 1977 and therefore provides important information about the distribution and timing of spawning in relation to climate change. Marine Institute surveys have been taking place since 2007 and have been initiated every three years including 2010, 2013 and 2016. At each egg station the GULF plankton sampler was towed on a v-shaped profile to within 5m of the bottom, or a maximum depth of 200m, whichever is greater.