Catch, effort, location (latitude, longitude), relative abundance indices, and associated biological data from groundfish multi-species bottom trawl surveys in Queen Charlotte Sound (QCS), Hecate Strait (HS), West Coast Vancouver Island (WCVI), West Coast Haida Gwaii (WCHG) and the Strait of Georgia (SOG), British Columbia.

Introduction

This is a set of long-term and coordinated surveys that together cover the continental shelf and upper slope of most of the British Columbia coast. The objectives of these surveys are to provide fishery-independent abundance indices of all demersal fish species available to bottom trawling and to collect biological samples of selected species. The surveys follow a random depth-stratified design and the sampling units are 2 km by 2 km blocks.

The synoptic bottom trawl surveys are conducted by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) in collaboration with the Canadian Groundfish Research and Conservation Society (CGRCS), a non-profit society composed of participants in the British Columbia commercial groundfish trawl fishery. The Queen Charlotte Sound and West Coast Haida Gwaii surveys are conducted under collaborative agreements, with the CGRCS providing chartered commercial fishing vessels and field technicians, while DFO provides in-kind contributions for running the surveys including personnel and equipment. The Hecate Strait, West Coast Vancouver Island, and Strait of Georgia surveys are conducted by DFO and have typically taken place on the Canadian Coast Guard research vessel W.E. Ricker. In years when the W.E. Ricker has not been available, the Hecate Strait and West Coast Vancouver Island surveys have taken place on chartered industry vessels.