Gulf of Maine Census » Data and Mapping Portal

Gulf of Maine Biogeographical Data Explorer

Use the form below to explore biogeographical data from the Gulf of Maine. Please keep in mind that this is a beta release of the Data Explorer, so it is possible that you will encounter a few bugs. We're actively working to identify and resolve any issues that arise.

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Species

One or more species to search for. Click the arrows to see a list of available species, or enter one or more species in the textboxes. Separate multiple species by commas. Example:

Lebbeus polaris, Homarus americanus, Macrourus berglax

Common name
Scientific name
	Display all sample locations for given search criteria, including those where selected species were not found.

Time Range

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Region

Limit results by geographic region. Separate multiple regions by commas. Example:

Georges Bank, Georges Basin, Continental Slope

Data Collection

Choose one or more data collections to search.

	NMFS NEFSC Bottom Trawl Survey 1963-2003. Northeast Fisheries Science Center groundfish survey. more » A complete metadata record for this collection is available. The spring and autumn bottom trawl surveys conducted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center are the longest running continuous time series of research vessel sampling in the world. The autumn survey began in 1963; the spring in 1968. These surveys cover the ocean environment from 5 to 200 fathoms deep, from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to well beyond the Canadian boarder. About 300 half-hour trawl sets are made at sites (stations) randomly chosen prior to the beginning of each survey. The objective of each tow is not to catch large numbers of fish, but to capture a representative sample of the various species and relative numbers in a given area. The distribution of trawling locations is allocated according to a statistical method that divides the region into a number of smaller areas (strata) with similar depth characteristics. The method is a stratified-random sampling design, and is commonly used for a wide variety of statistical estimates, including exit polling for elections. In the history of the trawl surveys, only two research vessels -- NOAA's FRV Albatross IV and the FRV Delaware II -- have been used to conduct these surveys. From: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/femad/ecosurvey/mainpage/why_nefsc_surveys.htm Important Note: These data have been filtered to only include samples taken within the Gulf of Maine Area. To see the boundaries of the Gulf of Maine Area, click here. To get data outside of the Gulf of Maine, contact NEFSC (http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov).
	NMFS NEFSC Clam and Quahog Survey. Short description of NMFS NEFSC Clam and Quahog Survey.more » Detailed description of this data source.
	NMFS NEFSC Herring Bottom Trawl Survey. Short description of NMFS NEFSC Herring Bottom Trawl Survey.more » Detailed description of this data source.
	NMFS NEFSC Sea Scallop Survey. Short description of NMFS NEFSC Sea Scallop Survey.more » Detailed description of this data source.
	NMFS NEFSC Shrimp Survey. Short description of NMFS NEFSC Shrimp Survey.more » Detailed description of this data source.
	Maine - New Hampshire Inshore Groundfish Trawl Survey. Short description of Maine - New Hampshire Inshore Groundfish Trawl Survey.more » Detailed description of this data source.

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The results of your search are available for download in various formats. Before downloading, please read the following disclaimer regarding the use of this data.

Disclaimer

Census of Marine Life (CoML) cannot be held responsible, nor assumes any liability for any damages caused by inaccuracies in this data or documentation, or as a result of the failure of the data or software to function in a particular manner. CoML makes no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, completeness, or utility of this information, nor does the fact of distribution constitute a warranty

Data files available for download

CSV file	The results of your search in CSV file format. CSV files can be imported by most database and spreadsheet applications, as well as many other applications that display and process data. The first row of the file contains the field names. Note that there may be a delay before the file download begins, because your query must be resent and processed by the database in order to generate this file. Please be patient and allow time for your query to be processed.
Field Descriptions	A text file describing each of the fields provided in the data files above. This is the same list that is displayed below.
GMBIS Data policy	A text file containing the data policy displayed above.
Map	A copy of the image that is displayed on the Search Results tab. PNG format, 620 x 500 pixels at 96 dpi. Printed size will be approximately 6.5 x 5.25 inches.

Field Descriptions

Field Name	Data Type	OBIS Field?	Description
Institution Code	Text	Yes	A "standard" code identifier that identifies the institution to which the collection belongs, if there is one. Use the code that is "standard" in your discipline, if there is one (no global registry exists for assigning institutional codes). If not, use a short version of the name of the institution. (e.g. "NMNH" for Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History or "Duke" for Duke University).
Collection Code	Text	Yes	A unique alphanumeric value which identifies the collection within the institution (e.g. "FishBase").
Field Number	Text	Yes	A "number" (really a string) created at collection time to identify all material that resulted from a collecting event, e.g. station or sample numbers.
Catalog Number	Text	Yes	A unique alphanumeric value which identifies an individual record within the collection, i.e. the key. It is recommended that this value provides a key by which the actual specimen/observation can be identified. If the specimen/observation has several items such as various types of preparation, this value should identify the individual component of the specimen.
Year Collected	Integer	Yes	The year (expressed as an integer) the sample/observation/record event occurred. The full year should be expressed (e.g. 1972 must be expressed as "1972" not "72"). Must always be a four digit integer. Where the event covers a range of values for year, indicates the mid-point of that range.
Month Collected	Integer	Yes	The month of year the sample/observation/record event occurred in the field. Where the event covers a range of values for month, indicates the mid-point of that range. Leave blank if even spans multiple years.
Day Collected	Integer	Yes	The day of the month the sample/observation/record event occurred in the field. Possible value ranges from 01..31 inclusive. Where the event covers a range of values for day, indicates the mid-point of that range. Leave blank if event spans multiple months.
Time of Day	Decimal	Yes	The time of day a specimen was collected expressed as decimal hours from midnight (e.g. 12.0 = mid day, 13.5 = 1:30pm).
Longitude	Decimal	Yes	The longitude of the location from which the specimen was collected or in which the sample/observation/record event occurred. This value should be expressed in decimal degrees (East & North = +; West & South = -). GPS-derived data should be referenced to the WGS/84 datum.
Latitude	Decimal	Yes	The latitude of the location from which the specimen was collected. This value should be expressed in decimal degrees (East & North = +; West & South = -). GPS-derived data must use the WGS 84 geodetic reference system (http://www.wgs84.com/).
Minimum Depth	Decimal	Yes	The minimum distance in meters below the surface of the water at which the collection/record was made; all material collected was at least this deep. Positive below the surface, negative above (e.g. collecting above sea level in tidal areas).
Maximum Depth	Decimal	Yes	The maximum distance in meters below the surface of the water at which the collection/record was made; all material collected was at most this deep. Positive below the surface, negative above (e.g. collecting above sea level in tidal areas).
Basis of Record	Text	Yes	An abbreviation indicating whether the record represents an observation (O) (this can include a visual observation, a survey catch, a commercial landing record, etc), a collected living organism, such as a tree in a botanical garden (L), a specimen in a collection/museum (S), a collected germplasm/seed (G), a photo (P), or derived from literature, where original basis unknown (D).
GMBIS Taxa Code	Integer	No
Scientific name	Text	Yes	The full name of lowest level taxon the Cataloged Item can be identified as a member of; includes genus, specific epithet, and subspecific epithet (zool.) or infraspecific rank abbreviation, and infraspecific epithet (bot.) Use name of suprageneric taxon (e.g., family name) if Cataloged Item cannot be identified to genus, species, or infraspecific taxon.
Kingdom	Text	Yes	The kingdom to which the organism belongs.
Phylum	Text	Yes	The phylum (or division) to which the organism belongs.
Class	Text	Yes	The class name of the organism.
Order	Text	Yes	The order name of the organism.
Family	Text	Yes	The family name of the organism.
Genus	Text	Yes	The genus name of the organism. While this field is highly recommended when the identification to genus is known, it should not be filled in if the identification cannot be made down to genus with confidence.
Species	Text	Yes	The specific epithet of the organism.
Common Name	Text	No
Sex	Text	Yes	The sex of a specimen or collected/observed individual(s). The domain should be a controlled set of terms (codes) based on community consensus. Proposed values: M=Male; F=Female; H=Hermaphrodite; I=Indeterminate (examined but could not be determined; U=Unkown (not examined); T=Transitional (between sexes; useful for sequential hermaphrodites); B = Both Male and Female.
Observed Individual Count	Decimal	Yes	The number of individuals (abundance) found in a collection/record event.
Observed Weight	Decimal	Yes	The total biomass found in a collection/record event. Expressed as kg.
Date Last Modified	DateTime	Yes	The date and time the record was last modified. Format: ISO 8601 compliant stamp in UTC(GMT) when the record was last modified. Example: "November 5, 1994, 8:15:30 am, US Eastern Standard Time" would be represented as "1994-11-05T13:15:30Z" (see W3C Note on Date and Time Formats - http://www.w3.org/TR/NOTE-datetime). While this field is required by the Darwin Core, OBIS can accommodate datasets without it.