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Metadata: 2013, Brown and May Marine, Zone 1 - Moray Firth, Cod Survey
Abstract:
The North Sea cod stock is assessed as a single unit however there is evidence of sub-stock structuring (Fox et al 2008, ICES 2007). The Moray Firth cod stock is reproductively isolated from other North Sea stocks. Spawning grounds for this species have been defined in the area of the MORL development (i.e. Coull et al 1998, Ellis et al 2010) however the degree of spawning activity currently taking place in this area is unknown. The objective of this survey was to determine whether significant cod spawning currently takes place in the area of the Moray Firth Round 3 and its vicinity. The survey was carried out in two trips between 17th February and 19th March 2013 (Trip A from 17th February to 26th February and Trip B from 10th March to 19th March) coinciding with the peak spawning season. Sampling was undertaking using a commercial rock-hopper otter trawl with a 120 mm mesh cod end, fitted with a 20 mm blinder (provided by Marine Scotland Science, hereinafter referred to as MSS). 56 tows of 30 minutes duration were undertaken within and adjacent to the MORL Round 3 Area to cover areas of the cod spawning grounds defined by Coull et al 1998 where noise levels at which cod may exhibit strong avoidance reactions during the construction phase may occur (90dBht (Gadus morhua) level). Two tows of 60 minutes duration were also carried at the request of MSS to determine whether larger cod were out-swimming the net in the 30 minute tows. The catch from each otter trawl was emptied into the hopper, photographed, and sorted into baskets by species. The length, sex and spawning condition of all cod was identified and recorded. The gonads of each individual were photographed.
Data holder:
Crown Estate Scotland
| Other details | ||
| Internal code | Internally assigned metadata identifier | 18684 |
| Title | The title is used to provide a brief and precise description of the dataset such as 'Date', 'Originating organisation/programme', 'Location' and 'Type of survey'. All acronyms and abbreviations should be reproduced in full. | 2013, Brown and May Marine, Zone 1 - Moray Firth, Cod Survey |
| Alternative title | The purpose of alternative title is to record any additional names by which the dataset may be known. | Cod Survey |
| File Identifier | The File Identifier is a code, preferably a GUID, that is globally unique and remains with the same metadata record even if the record is edited or transferred between portals or tools. | 4e1754ac-4ba2-4ef3-adba-089b52f53bf8 |
| Resource Identifier | This is the code assigned by the data owner. | CES-352 |
| Resource type | The resource type will likely be a dataset but could also be a series (collection of datasets with a common specification) or a service. | series |
| Start date | This describes the date the resource starts. This may only be the year if month and day are not known | 2013-02-17 |
| End date | This describes the date the resource ends. This may only be the year if month and day are not known | 2013-03-19 |
| Frequency of updates | This describes the frequency with which the resource is modified or updated i.e. a monitoring programme that samples once per year has a frequency that is described as 'annually'. | notPlanned |
| Abstract | The abstract provides a clear and brief statement of the content of the resource. | The North Sea cod stock is assessed as a single unit however there is evidence of sub-stock structuring (Fox et al 2008, ICES 2007). The Moray Firth cod stock is reproductively isolated from other North Sea stocks. Spawning grounds for this species have been defined in the area of the MORL development (i.e. Coull et al 1998, Ellis et al 2010) however the degree of spawning activity currently taking place in this area is unknown. The objective of this survey was to determine whether significant cod spawning currently takes place in the area of the Moray Firth Round 3 and its vicinity. The survey was carried out in two trips between 17th February and 19th March 2013 (Trip A from 17th February to 26th February and Trip B from 10th March to 19th March) coinciding with the peak spawning season. Sampling was undertaking using a commercial rock-hopper otter trawl with a 120 mm mesh cod end, fitted with a 20 mm blinder (provided by Marine Scotland Science, hereinafter referred to as MSS). 56 tows of 30 minutes duration were undertaken within and adjacent to the MORL Round 3 Area to cover areas of the cod spawning grounds defined by Coull et al 1998 where noise levels at which cod may exhibit strong avoidance reactions during the construction phase may occur (90dBht (Gadus morhua) level). Two tows of 60 minutes duration were also carried at the request of MSS to determine whether larger cod were out-swimming the net in the 30 minute tows. The catch from each otter trawl was emptied into the hopper, photographed, and sorted into baskets by species. The length, sex and spawning condition of all cod was identified and recorded. The gonads of each individual were photographed. |
| Lineage | Lineage includes the background information, history of the sources of data, data quality statements and methods. | The survey was undertaken between 17th February and 19th March 2013 in order to cover the peak spawning period of this species. As previously mentioned cod spawning occurs between January and April, with peak spawning taking place from February to March. Two sampling trips were undertaken: Trip A from 17th February to 26th February and Trip B from 10th March to 19th March. During these, a total of 58 stations were sampled using a commercial rock-hopper otter trawl with a 120 mm mesh cod end, fitted with a 20 mm blinder. A summarised log of events is given in Section 7.2- Appendix 2. The sampling stations were located within the Moray Firth Round 3 Area and at adjacent locations overlapping both the cod spawning grounds defined in Coull et al 1998 and areas expected to be affected by piling noise during the construction phase at the 90dBht1(Gadus morhua) level). The noise impact ranges used for selection of sampling stations are as presented in MORL’s Offshore Generating Station Impact Assessment (Chapter 7.2 - Biological Environment). |
| Related keywords | ||
| Keyword | General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Fish abundance in water bodies |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Fish behaviour | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Consenting | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Zone search area | |
| General subject area(s) associated with the resource, uses multiple controlled vocabularies | Species distribution | |
| Geographical coverage | ||
| North | The northern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | 58.322968 |
| East | The eastern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | -2.569726 |
| South | The southern-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | 58.003955 |
| West | The western-most limit of the data resource in decimal degrees | -3.217783 |
| Responsible organisations | ||
| Role | The point of contact is person or organisation with responsibility for the creation and maintenance of the metadata for the resource. | pointOfContact |
| Organisation name | Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd | |
| info@morayoffshorerenewables.co.uk | ||
| Role | The custodian is the person or organisation that accepts responsibility for the resource and ensures appropriate care and maintenance. If a dataset has been lodged with a Data Archive Centre for maintenance then this organisation is be entered here. | custodian |
| Organisation name | Crown Estate Scotland | |
| Phone | +44 (0)131 260 6070 | |
| enquiries@crownestatescotland.com | ||
| Role | The originator is the person or organisation who created, collected or produced the resource. | originator |
| Organisation name | Brown & May Marine Ltd. | |
| Phone | 01379 870181 | |
| marine@brownmay.com | ||
| Role | The distributor is the person or organisation that distributes the resource. | distributor |
| Organisation name | Crown Estate Scotland | |
| Phone | +44 (0)131 260 6070 | |
| enquiries@crownestatescotland.com | ||
| Role | The owner is the person or organisation that owns the resource. | owner |
| Organisation name | Moray Offshore Renewables Ltd | |
| info@morayoffshorerenewables.co.uk | ||
| Resource locators | ||
| Locator URL | Web address (URL) that links to the resource | https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/details/CES-352/summary |
| Web address (URL) that links to the resource | https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk | |
| Dataset constraints | ||
| 20.1 Limitations on Public Access - Access constraints | This states `otherRestrictions` from ISO vocabulary RestrictionCode and is an INSPIRE/GEMINI requirement. | otherRestrictions |
| 20.2 Limitations on Public Access - Other constraints | There will be no limitations when published on the Marine Data Exchange | |
| 21.1 Conditions for Access and Use - Use constraints | This states `otherRestrictions` from ISO vocabulary RestrictionCode and is an INSPIRE/GEMINI requirement. | otherRestrictions |
| 21.2 Conditions for Access and Use - Other constraints | This states any constraints on use of the data. Multiple conditions can be recorded for different parts of the data resource. If no conditions apply, then `No condtions apply` is recorded. This uses free text. | Data Must be used in accordance to the Marine Data Exchange's Terms of Use: https://www.marinedataexchange.co.uk/content/info/terms-of-use |
| Version info | ||
| Date of publication | The publication date of the resource or if previously unpublished the date that the resource was made publicly available via the MEDIN network. | 2026-09-10 |
| Harvest date | The date which this record has been (re)harvested from the provider. | 2026-09-27 |
| Metadata date | The date when the content of this metadata record was last updated. | 2026-09-10 |
| Metadata standard name | The name of the metadata standard used to create this metadata | MEDIN |
| Metadata standard version | The version of the MEDIN Discovery Metadata Standard used to create the metadata record | 3.1.2 |