This record describes fish diet data collected as part of the 1993-1996 South East Fishery Ecosystem Study undertaken by CSIRO Division of Fisheries. Demersal trawls (33 per survey) were carried out at a range of depths (25m to 200m) on seven transects across the continental shelf in eastern Bass Strait, south-west Victoria, and south-west NSW waters. Data 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). Stomach samples were collected from betwen 2 and 120 specimens of each of a wide range of demersal fish caught in demersal trawls, including SEF quota species such as jack mackerel, tiger flathead, school whiting, redfish, spotted warehou and jackass morwong, among others, for laboratory analyses of diet composition. This information is being used to assess the influence of substrate types in providing food for particular demersal fish species.

This record describes samples of biological hard parts (otoliths, vertebrae, and spines) collected as part of the 1993-1996 South East Fishery Ecosystem Study undertaken by CSIRO Division of Fisheries. Demersal trawls (33 per survey) were carried out at a range of depths (25m to 200m) on seven transects across the continental shelf in eastern Bass Strait, south-west Victoria, and south-west NSW waters. Data 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). Otoliths, vertebrae and spines of selected species were collected for use in age determinations.

This record describes the fish survey data collected as part of the 1993-1996 South East Fishery Ecosystem Study undertaken by CSIRO Division of Fisheries. Demersal trawls (33 per survey) were carried out at a range of depths (25m to 200m) on seven transects across the continental shelf in eastern Bass Strait, south-west Victoria, and south-west NSW waters. Data 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). Extensive biological and distribution data were collected on a wide range of demersal fish including SEF quota species such as jack mackerel, tiger flathead, school whiting, redfish, spotted warehou and jackass morwong, among many others. All species, length-frequency, and other catch related data are held in the main Southern Surveyor biological database in Hobart. Other attributes recorded include weight, sex, and gonad maturation stage, for certain target species. Additional samples were taken from this material for biological analyses of stomach contents, stable isotopes, otolith analyses, etc. (see separate metadata entry). 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 and the data will be analysed along with the broad-scale survey dataset.

This record describes stable isotope data from tissues of fish, invertebrates, phytoplankton, and zooplankton collected as part of the 1993-1996 South East Fishery Ecosystem Study undertaken by CSIRO Division of Fisheries. Demersal trawls (33 per survey), benthic sled tows (for invertebrates), zooplankton and phytoplankton samples were carried out at a range of depths (25m to 250m) on seven transects across the continental shelf in eastern Bass Strait, south-west Victoria, and south-west NSW waters. Data 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). Tissue samples were collected from a wide range of demersal fish, benthic invertebrates, phytoplankton and zooplankton, for laboratory analyses of stable isotopes. This information is being used to indicate the relative trophic levels of each organism and therefore its position in the community food web.

The primary basis for the project was the analysis of existing plankton and larval fish samples and the collation of data sets on larval distribution that had been derived from sampling across broad areas of southern and eastern Australia over the last 17 years. Some of these samples had been archived in the CSIRO Ian Munro Fish Collection, Australian Museum or South Australian Museum as part of the FRDC funded regional larval fish archive (FRDC94/55). Other samples or data sets were resident within the collections of collaborating institutions. The project focused its analyses on southern and southeast Australia spanning the area from the Great Australian Bight (GAB) to northern NSW. This region was selected for four reasons: First, sampling had been most intensive in this region and available data sets provided excellent spatial and seasonal coverage. Second, our ability to identify larvae to species was well developed in the region. Third, the oceanography of the region had been the subject of intensive study and provided a sound basis for linking biological data to physical processes. Fourth, additional sampling during the period of this project was scheduled that further enhanced sample coverage (specifically sampling by MAFRI in Bass Strait Bass Strait and sampling by CSIRO in the GAB). The Larval Fish Database (LFD) has been created in Microsoft Access. It has been divided into two parts: a data module that houses raw data and an application module that automatically displays summaries of these data in a user-friendly fashion. By dividing the database into two parts, the user only has access to the specified data summaries, the raw data remain secure and the LFD can be updated as further data become available. The LFD incorporates an ActiveX component (MapInfo MapX) that allows the user to visualise spatial data and animations of modelled larval dispersal that are displayed using Microsoft's Media Player. The LFD has been designed to allow expa