Irish Groundfish Survey Catch Numbers

Most importantly, they allow forecasting of future commercial abundance. In addition, the Irish Groundfish Survey provides data on the distribution and biology of commercial and non-commercial species of ecological interest, as well as hydrographic and environmental observations. When these data are combined with annual recruitment indices they have helped identify the possible causes driving year-class success or failure, and allowed fisheries scientists to see long-term changes in populations that may have been caused by fishing, pollution, or climate change.

The Irish Groundfish Survey feeds into the International Bottom Trawl Survey (IBTS) for international reporting. The Irish Groundfish Survey has been managed by the Fisheries Ecosystem Advisory Services (FEAS) section of the Marine Institute (Ireland). Data complete for each year survey has taken place.