Megabenthos was sampled using a beam trawl, at 105 sites throughout the Gulf of Carpentaria during the Southern Surveyor cruise SS 03/90. The infauna was identified, counted and weighed. The results were used in pattern analysis of the communities. Data on sediment grain size were also collected.

On the FRV Southern Surveyor cruise SS3/90, 108 stations throughout the Gulf of Carpentaria were sampled for sea temperature, salinity, water depth, and sediment grain size. Data was also collected from the 1989-1990 "Jacqueline D" cruises and from commercial trawlers. Relevant rainfall, wind and temperature data were obtained from the Meteorological Bureau.

This record describes the sediment size data collected as part of the 1993-1996 South East Fishery Ecosystem Study undertaken by CSIRO Division of Fisheries. Sediment samples were collected using a sediment sampler aboard a benthic sled deployed on 4 cruises of FRV "Southern Surveyor" on seven transects across the continental shelf in eastern Bass Strait, south-west Victoria, and south-west NSW waters. Samples were collected in July 1993 (cruise SS 05/93), August 1994 (cruise SS 05/94), April 1996 (cruise SS 02/96) and November 1996 (cruise SS 06/96). In addition to the broad-scale, transect-based surveys described above, representatives of 4 separate habitat types (Big Gutter, Gabo Reef, Big Horsehoe and Broken Reef) were sampled more intensively. For the purpose of this study, sediment data were used primarily to characterise habitat types by particle size as well as to complement other habitat data derived from acoustic measurements. In addition, portions of the sediment samples were used for pigment and stable isotope analysis (see separate metadata records).

Data was collected on Southern Surveyor voyage SS 04/2003. The voyage took place in Northern Queensland coastal waters and the Gulf of Carpentaria during May - June 2003. The data was culminated in a Post cruise report. Access to this report is available via the links below.

This dataset contains data from pollution monitoring in Jervis Bay, NSW. The data were obtained from various sites around Jervis Bay at different times between October 1988 and July 1991. Samples for trace metals from sediments were determined, together with grain size. Mercury in the tissues of Red morwong (Cheilodactylus fuscus), Oysters (Ostrea angasi), Mussels (Trichomya hirsuta) and heavy metals in the leaves of Posidonia australis and Zostera sp. were determined. Organochlorides and hydrocarbons from sediments, water column and biota were also determined. Tributyl tin experiments were conducted in tanks. The data are part of the Jervis Bay Marine Ecological Study. NB - As the database has been lost, the only data still available are those published in the JERVIS BAY BASELINE STUDIES Final Report.

Three FRV Southern Surveyor cruises took place in the Gulf of Carpentaria: SS3/90 (108 stations), SS5/91 (80 stations) and SS1/93 (80 stations). Samples were collected in fish trawls and dredges and sediment samples were taken. Temperature and salinity data were also collected.

Australia has gazetted an ambitious national network of Commonwealth Marine Reserves that includes the iconic Huon and Tasman Fracture reserves off Tasmania where seamounts (‘undersea mountains’) support unique deep-water coral reefs. These reefs rank among the most bio-diverse globally. Protection of deep-water coral reefs is a high-priority conservation concern nationally and internationally because deep-water corals are very fragile, easily impacted by human activities including bottom trawling, and are believed to recover very slowly. These corals may also be highly vulnerable to climate change because projected changes in water chemistry could limit the ability of corals to build calcareous skeletons. Despite these concerns, and Australia’s significant investment in marine conservation, several fundamental ecological issues remain to be evaluated. These include defining the spatial extent of deep-sea coral communities inside and outside the Tasmanian reserves, and evaluating the resilience of the communities to bottom trawling. This information is important to understanding the dynamics of deep-sea communities globally, and for developing and implementing conservation management plans. The survey aboard RV Investigator set out to determine the spatial extents of deep-sea coral communities in and adjacent to the Huon and Tasman Fracture reserves, and quantify changes in the communities by comparing samples taken in 2018 to samples taken, using similar methods, in 2007 and 1997. There was supplementary sampling on the heavily trawled St. Helens Seamount which was surveyed in 2008. This metadata record refers to the image data collected during the survey. The imagery collected for this project have been registered to the 2018 incidence of the CSIRO VARS database, where annotations have been added. The annotations collected for this project have also been linked to the Oracle data base BHIMAGE and the associated videos and still images have been archived as described in MarLIN record 14436 'Benthic Habitats Video Image Archive'.

The data were mainly collected in the Far Northern Section Cross-Shelf Closure of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park. Location approximately: 11-12 Degrees South Latitude, 143-144 Degrees East Longitude. The data consisted of: 1. Biological samples from prawn trawls, fish trawls, benthic dredge tows 2. Sediment samples 3. Seabird regurgitated pellets 4. Seabird counts 5. GPS Position data for trawls The study objectives were as follows: 1. A quantitative description of the physical environment, sediment characteristics, fishing effort, fish communities, epibenthic communities and prawn populations. 2. A comparison of the fish,benthic and prawn communities of areas closed to trawling with areas open to trawling. 3. An assessment of the impact of prawn trawling on benthic communities and fish communities. 4. A quantitative description of the composition of bycatch produced by prawn trawling in the Green Zone and the areas to the immediate north and south of the Zone. 5. A list of the species trawled animals other than prawns returned to the sea and whether they float or sink and quantification of the fate of the dead material. 6.Quantitative estimates of the importance of trawl discards in the diets of seabirds, the degree of dependence on such discards and the effects of discards on seabird populations.

Towed camera transects were conducted on the shelf of the Great Australian Bight (GAB) as part of the 'GAB Mapping Project' (FRDC Project No 2006/036). To further our understanding and knowledge of fishing grounds, terrain types and habitats in the GAB, this project proposed to include a camera survey, involving industry. A portable camera system developed by CSIRO during and for a previous fishing grounds mapping project in the SEF was available to be used from an industry vessel. This metadata record refers to the image data collected during the survey. The image annotations collected for this project will added to the Oracle data base BHIMAGE and the associated videos and still images have been archived as described in MarLIN record 14436 'Benthic Habitats Video Image Archive'.

Towed camera transects were conducted in the Great Australian Bight (GAB) and near St Helen's Hill seamount during the pilot survey for estimating the effectiveness of spatial closures for deepwater gulper sharks and associated fishery species. There are large gaps in ecological knowledge of gulper sharks which limit the effective design of area closures (e.g. optimising sizes and numbers) and assessment of their performance. The survey aimed to fill these gaps do this by characterising the habitats and ecosystem processes in 200-700 m depths that sustain key species, and commencing a process to determine the relevant aspects of species ecology. Primarily this will be (1) to measure the movement of fish within and to/ from a large closed area in the GAB with a tagging program, and (2) estimate the abundance of selected species in relation to habitat features (substructure within submarine canyons, escarpments and rocky banks, and adjacent water column features) with two independent, non-extractive photographic methods. This metadata record refers to the image data collected during the survey. The image annotations collected for this project will added to the Oracle data base BHIMAGE and the associated videos and still images have been archived as described in MarLIN record 14436 'Benthic Habitats Video Image Archive'.