Labadie, Jones and Cockburn Banks (FU20-21) 2013 UWTV Survey Report

Abstract

This report provides the main results of the 2013 underwater television survey on the ‘Labadie, Jones and Cockburn Banks’ ICES assessment area; Functional Unit 20-21. Some exploratory stations were carried out in 2006 and 2012. The survey was multi-disciplinary in nature collecting UWTV, CTD, Multibeam and other ecosystem data. A randomised isometric grid design was employed with UWTV stations at 6.0 nmi intervals. Due to weather and technical downtime only 58 out of the 95 planned stations were successfully completed. The adjusted mean density for 2013 was 0.18/m2 which can be classified as “low density”. Scientific knowledge of the heterogeneous habitat and spatial distribution of the Nephrops population in this area is developing. Survey design and burrow identification are particularly difficult in this area due to factors discussed. The occurrence of sea-pens and trawl marks on the UWTV footage is also presented.