2bee7c39e01fac96cab36e8742ad51db English dataset Northwestern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority North Western IFCA dassh.enquiries@mba.ac.uk pointOfContact 2021-04-16 MEDIN Discovery metadata standard 2.3.8 urn:ogc:def:crs:EPSG::4326 1996 - 2013, North Western Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority (NWIFCA) Mussel Surveys 2013-12-04 publication 2013-10-08 revision NWIFCA_MUS_ALL_QUAD http://www.ne-ifca.gov.uk The NWIFCA conducts mussel surveys across its district in order to inform the management of this fishery. Data is collected on the percentage cover of a bed in mussel and other habitat types. The relative proportion of different size classes of mussel is also recorded. Samples are often taken for production of length frequency tables. Mussel beds are usually surveyed irregularly, with an adaptive survey strategy focusing on those beds that are very important commercially or have specific issues around their management. Northwestern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority North Western IFCA dassh.enquiries@mba.ac.uk originator Northwestern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority North Western IFCA dassh.enquiries@mba.ac.uk custodian irregular Delimited Documents Geographic Information System Marine Environmental Data and Information Network NDGO0005 Species distribution GEMET - INSPIRE themes, version 1.0 2008-01-06 revision Zoobenthos generic abundance Shellfish morphology, age and physiology SeaDataNet P021 parameter discovery vocabulary 2009-11-16 revision Data is freely available for research or commercial use providing that the originators are acknowledged in any publications produced. A charge may be applied to cover costs of compiling and sending data. otherRestrictions No restrictions to public access 50 English biota Charting Progress 2 Sea Areas 2009-06-18 creation Irish Sea ICES Rectangles 2009-05-01 creation 28E9 -3.7147 -2.7698 53.2512 54.9831 1996-11-15 2013-10-08 Northwestern Inshore Fisheries and Conservation Authority North Western IFCA dassh.enquiries@mba.ac.uk distributor dataset Beds are surveyed using a series of survey points in a grid pattern of 50 m, loaded onto GPS. Beds must be mapped previously to a survey in order to create this grid. However, additional points can be added in the field. At each survey point a 0.5 m2 quadrat is placed randomly within 2 m of the point. Within this quadrat the percentage cover of the two must abundant mussel categories (below) is recorded. Other types of cover (e.g. mud, rock, algae etc.) are not recorded. Spat (SP) = 1 to 10mm, Seed (S) = 10 to 25mm, Small mature clean (SMC) = 25 to 45mm, Mature clean (MC) = 45mm + No barnacles, or only one or two, Mature, some barnacles (MSB) = 45mm + Majority of shell can be seen, Mature barnacled (MB) = 45mm + Most of shell covered in barnacles, and Old barnacled (OB) = 45mm + Almost none of shell can be seen. Samples of mussels found in quadrats are taken for analysis in the lab. These are measured using a digital calliper to the nearest .5 mm and a wet weight taken. Available outputs from these surveys vary. These include raw data, amalgamated data, GIS data, thematic maps and reports. For some surveys this methodology was not followed, instead sample were taken for analysis and a general inspection completed with comments recorded.