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Fishery-independent catch and effort data from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Fisheries Science Center
(SEFSC) Bottom Longline Surveys are used to map the distribution and abundance of
fish and shark species. Relative abundance by 15-minute longitude by latitude blocks
are summarized from 2,964 bottom longline sets taken from 2001 to 2018. Relative abundance
is expressed as a catch per unit effort (CPUE) in units of number caught per 100 hook
hour, and is represented as a polygon map layer. The layer attributes include the
central longitude (LON_GRIDC) and latitude (LAT_GRIDC); a polygon identifier (GRIDID),
the species represented (TAXON), the number of samples (N), the mean catch (CATCH),
the standard error of the mean (CATCH_SE) and the minimum catch (CATCH_MIN) and maximum
catch (CATCH_MAX) for each 15 minute longitude by latitude polygon. Individual map
layers were generated for the following species: gag grouper (Mycteroperca microlepis),
red grouper (Epinephelus morio), red snapper (Lutjanus campechanus), yellowedge grouper
(Hyporthodus flavolimbatus), Atlantic sharpnose shark (Rhizoprionodon terraenovae),
blacknose shark (Carcharhinus acronotus), and blacktip shark (Carcharhinus limbatus). |