Acoustic data were collected by the Division's "RoxAnn" system, to measure roughness and hardness of the seabed. The data were collected on two research cruises on the FRV Southern Surveyor in the Gulf of Carpentaria. The first (SS 02/97) was in February-March 1997, travelling from Cairns to Darwin, and the second (SS 08/97) in October-November 1997, travelling from Darwin to Torres Strait and Weipa.
This data set contains Simrad EK500 single beam echosounder data at 38 and 120 kHz and Simrad EA500 single beam echosounder data at 12 kHz from the Southern Surveyor. The EK500 data is primarily for water column characterisation (fish stocks, microplankton distribution) and on occasions for seabed classification (particularly prior to the EM300 swath mapper being installed), while the EA500 data is primarily for bathymetric readings.
The dataset comprises catch records of syngnathids (seahorses, pipefish etc.) from demersal fish trawls, demersal prawn trawls and epibenthic sled samples from the North Marine Region. It is a compilation of data from 9 research voyages (SO 05/80, SO 07/80, SO 02/81, SS 03/90, SS 05/91, SS 01/93, SS 02/97, SS 08/97 and SS 03/98) and the CSIRO scientific observer program, 1996-98. The dataset was created for the Department of the Environment and Water Resources (DEW) for use in profiling of the North Marine Region during the development of a marine bioregional plan for the region.
The dataset comprises catch records of demersal fish and invertebrates from demersal fish trawls, demersal prawn trawls and epibenthic sled samples from the Northern Planning Region. It is a compilation of data from 9 research voyages (SO 05/80, SO 07/80, SO 02/81, SS 03/90, SS 05/91, SS 01/93, SS 02/97, SS 08/97and SS 03/98). The catch of each species in a sample is recorded as raw weight and count, gross weight and count (raw values divided by the subsampling fraction) and per area weight and count. Species are recorded as CAAB codes. Sample attributes include the voyage, location, time, sampling gear and sampled area. The dataset was created for the Department of the Environment and Water Resources (DEW) for use in profiling of the North Marine Region during the development of a marine bioregional plan for the region. Data from all voyages are in a single set of tables and in the same structure and measurement units. The aim of the dataset is to provide convenient access to the data from the source datasets, which were stored in various data structures in various locations. Although the data are presented in uniform measurement units of counts and weights per unit area, data from different samples cannot be assumed to be comparable. In particular, the catchability of a species varies among types of sampling gears. Even samples from a given gear type on a given voyage may not all be comparable to one another. For example, gear may be altered during a voyage (e.g. multiple codend mesh sizes may be tried) and fish trawls are occasionally aimed at fish visible on the echo sounder. The data should therefore be analysed no more than semi-quantitatively. Assumptions on the comparability of samples -- even from a single voyage and gear type -- should be based on reference to the voyage reports.
This record is an overview entry for biological data collected on Southern Surveyor cruise SS 08/97. This cruise took place in the Torres Straits, Gulf of Carpentaria and Arafura Sea during 3 October - 3 November 1997, under the leadership of John Salini. Biological data collected on this cruise include vertebrate and invertebrate bycatch species from 9 prawn trawl areas, Roxann and EK500 acoustic data to help discriminate bottom environments, accompanied by dredge tows and abiotic SDL (submersible data logger) data. 21 sea snakes were also tested for post-trawl survival, and two live leiognathids (ponyfish) were chemically treated for otolith marking. Please note: This metadata record is a preliminary entry derived from information in the cruise plan and/or cruise report. Individual data types - which may span several cruises - will be indexed separately within this metadata system in due course.