Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

NCCOS Caribbean Fishery Acoustic Assessment: Fish Density Data Collection from NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, from 2008-03-26 to 2014-05-31 (NCEI Accession 0156395)

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These datasets show acoustically detected fish densities throughout the Caribbean ocean. NOAA/NCCOS collected these datasets to help characterize broad-scale fish abundance, biomass, and understand temporal behavior.

Acoustic data was collected aboard NOAA Ship Nancy Foster using 120-7C splitbeam transducer during cruise # NF08-01, NF09-01, NF10-03, NF11-01, NF12-01, NF13-01, and NF14-01. The hull mounted Simrad 120-7C transducer was calibrated to factory standards and environmental parameters where applied during acquisition.

Data was collected using 128 microsecond pulse length and had a varied ping rate due to triggering from Reson 7125 multibeam system. The resulting data layers show geo-referenced fish densities per 100 square meter intervals. The fish densities have been divided into three size classes, small fish (<11cm), medium fish (11cm-29cm), and large fish (>29cm).

Dataset Citation

Cite as: Taylor, Chris; Ebert, Erik; Kracker, Laura; Battista, Tim; Costa, Bryan (2016). NCCOS Caribbean Fishery Acoustic Assessment: Fish Density Data Collection from NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, from 2008-03-26 to 2014-05-31 (NCEI Accession 0156395). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0156395. Accessed [date].

Dataset Identifiers

ISO 19115-2 Metadata

gov.noaa.nodc:0156395

Full Text · XML

Download Data	HTTPS (download) Navigate directly to the URL for data access and direct download. FTP (download) These data are available through the File Transfer Protocol (FTP). FTP is no longer supported by most internet browsers. You may copy and paste the FTP link to the data into an FTP client (e.g., FileZilla or WinSCP).
Distribution Formats	Originator data format
Ordering Instructions	Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information +1-301-713-3277 ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information ncei.info@noaa.gov

Time Period	2010-03-19 to 2014-04-02
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates	West: -65.745752 East: -64.417193 South: 17.631664 North: 18.520534
Spatial Coverage Map

General Documentation

NCEI Dataset Landing Page
Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.
Descriptive Information
Navigate directly to the URL for a descriptive web page with download links.

Associated Resources

Costa, B., Taylor, J. C., Kracker, L., Battista, T., & Pittman, S. (2014). Mapping Reef Fish and the Seascape: Using Acoustics and Spatial Modeling to Guide Coastal Management. PLoS ONE, 9(1), e85555. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085555
- https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0085555
  journal article
Integration of fisheries acoustics surveys and bathymetric mapping to characterize midwater-seafloor habitats of US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (2008–2010)
- Integration of fisheries acoustics surveys and bathymetric mapping to characterize midwater-seafloor habitats of US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico (2008–2010) (download)
  technical memo
Taylor, J. C., & Ebert, E. (2012). Mapping coral reef fish schools and aggregations with high-frequency multibeam and split-beam sonars. Proceedings of Meetings on Acoustics, 070041. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4772586
- https://doi.org/10.1121/1.4772586
  journal article
Mapping Fish Habitat to Determine Coral Reef Ecosystem Health in the Caribbean
- https://coastalscience.noaa.gov/project/mapping-fish-habitat-determine-coral-reef-ecosystem-health-caribbean/
  National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) project page

Publication Dates	publication: 2016-09-29 creation: 2016-08-23
Data Presentation Form	Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status	Complete - production of the data has been completed Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency	As needed
Purpose	These data layers are to help inform stakeholders about economically important fish and areas of high densities for further research.
Use Limitations	accessLevel: Public Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.

Dataset Citation	Cite as: Taylor, Chris; Ebert, Erik; Kracker, Laura; Battista, Tim; Costa, Bryan (2016). NCCOS Caribbean Fishery Acoustic Assessment: Fish Density Data Collection from NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, from 2008-03-26 to 2014-05-31 (NCEI Accession 0156395). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0156395. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors	Taylor, Chris NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Ebert, Erik NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Kracker, Laura NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Battista, Tim NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Costa, Bryan NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science
Principal Investigators	J. Christopher Taylor NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)
Collaborators	Laura Kracker NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Timothy A. Battista NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Bryan Costa NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) University of the Virgin Islands (UVI) Caribbean Fishery Management Council NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (NMFS/SEFSC)
Resource Providers	NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)
Points of Contact	Erik Ebert NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS)
Publishers	NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
Acknowledgments	Funded by: Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP)

Theme keywords	NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS FISHERY SURVEY NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS GIS product in situ WMO_CategoryCode oceanography CoRIS Discovery Thesaurus Geographic Information > Biology CoRIS Theme Thesaurus EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Acoustics > Acoustic Attenuation/Transmission EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Acoustics > Acoustic Attenuation/Transmission > Bioacoustics EARTH SCIENCE > Oceans > Ocean Acoustics > Acoustic Attenuation/Transmission > Bioacoustics > Fishes Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords EARTH SCIENCE > AGRICULTURE > AGRICULTURAL AQUATIC SCIENCES > FISHERIES NCCOS Keywords Acoustic Sonar Coral Reefs Remote Sensing NCCOS Research Data Types Derived Data Product Geospatial
Data Center keywords	NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords DOC/NOAA/NOS/NCCOS > National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, National Ocean Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce
Platform keywords	NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS NOAA Ship Nancy Foster Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords Ships ICES/SeaDataNet Ship Codes NANCY FOSTER (call sign: WTER, ICES code: 33NF, 2004-)
Instrument keywords	NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS echo sounder Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords ECHO SOUNDERS > ECHO SOUNDERS Provider Instruments Splitbeam Echosounder
Place keywords	NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Caribbean Sea North Atlantic Ocean CoRIS Place Thesaurus COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Puerto Rico (18N066W0000) COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > Puerto Rico > Vieques > Vieques Island (18N065W0002) COUNTRY/TERRITORY > United States of America > U. S. Virgin Islands > U. S. Virgin Islands > U. S. Virgin Islands (17N064W0000) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Puerto Rico (18N066W0000) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea /North Atlantic Ocean > Puerto Rico > Vieques Island > Vieques Island (18N065W0002) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea > Virgin Islands > Lesser Antilles > U. S. Virgin Islands (17N064W0000) OCEAN BASIN > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean > Caribbean Sea Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN OCEAN > ATLANTIC OCEAN > NORTH ATLANTIC OCEAN > CARIBBEAN SEA NCCOS Place Keywords Geographic Area > Coastal Ocean Geographic Area > Continental Shelf Geographic Area > Coral Reefs NCCOS Regions of Study U.S. States and Territories > Puerto Rico U.S. States and Territories > U.S. Virgin Islands Waterbodies > Caribbean Sea Provider Place Names Northeast Ecological Corridor Southeast Puerto Rican Insular Shelf
Project keywords	NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) CRCP Project 387 Mapping Fish Habitat Use and Reef Fish Spawning Aggregations in the US Caribbean to Inform Marine Reserve Management
Keywords	NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER 0156395
Keywords	Send2NCEI Submission Package ID 02BN0C

Use Constraints	Cite as: Taylor, Chris; Ebert, Erik; Kracker, Laura; Battista, Tim; Costa, Bryan (2016). NCCOS Caribbean Fishery Acoustic Assessment: Fish Density Data Collection from NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, from 2008-03-26 to 2014-05-31 (NCEI Accession 0156395). [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0156395. Accessed [date].
Access Constraints	Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees	In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.

Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps	2016-09-29T19:23:15Z - NCEI Accession 0156395 v1.1 was published.
Output Datasets	NCEI Accession 0156395 v1.1 NCEI Accession 0156395 v1.1 (download) published 2016-09-29T19:23:15Z

Lineage information for: dataset
Processing Steps	Data Type: FISHERY SURVEY (measured); Units: Fish per 100 square meters; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: Splitbeam Echosounder; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data was collected using a Simrad 120-7C scientific splitbeam echosounder that was calibrated per factory standards. The pulse rate was set at 128 microseconds and the ping rate varied by depth or from impulse trigger by a Reson 7125 mulitbeam echosounder system. All environmental parameters were corrected during data acquisition within ER60 software.; Data Quality Information: Offsets were applied for transducer location, transducer orientation, and POS/MV location. Data were reviewed for QA/QC and manually edited for erroneous ping returns and acoustic noise. A fish tracking algorithm was used to detect fish throughout the water column. Fish detections were exported to a csv format and gridded into 100 square meter bins. Decibel returns of each fish were converted to size(cm) and divided into size classes (Costa, et al. 2014). The resulting data was converted to an ArcGIS point shape file and projected in WGS84

Lineage information for: dataset

Processing Steps

Data Type: FISHERY SURVEY (measured); Units: Fish per 100 square meters; Observation Type: in situ; Sampling Instrument: Splitbeam Echosounder; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Data was collected using a Simrad 120-7C scientific splitbeam echosounder that was calibrated per factory standards. The pulse rate was set at 128 microseconds and the ping rate varied by depth or from impulse trigger by a Reson 7125 mulitbeam echosounder system. All environmental parameters were corrected during data acquisition within ER60 software.; Data Quality Information: Offsets were applied for transducer location, transducer orientation, and POS/MV location. Data were reviewed for QA/QC and manually edited for erroneous ping returns and acoustic noise. A fish tracking algorithm was used to detect fish throughout the water column. Fish detections were exported to a csv format and gridded into 100 square meter bins. Decibel returns of each fish were converted to size(cm) and divided into size classes (Costa, et al. 2014). The resulting data was converted to an ArcGIS point shape file and projected in WGS84

Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument	echo sounder
Platform	NOAA Ship Nancy Foster

Last Modified: 2025-07-28T14:13:03Z
For questions about the information on this page, please email: ncei.info@noaa.gov

NCCOS Caribbean Fishery Acoustic Assessment: Fish Density Data Collection from NOAA Ship Nancy Foster, from 2008-03-26 to 2014-05-31 (NCEI Accession 0156395)

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