gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:79367 eng UTF8 dataset CSV Files Northwest Fisheries Science Center 206-860-3200 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA https://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Website Website for this organization information resourceProvider Whitmire, Curt 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA curt.whitmire@noaa.gov pointOfContact 2026-05-28T20:59:22 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata Part 2 Extensions for imagery and gridded data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey Observations of Deep-sea Corals and Sponges WCGBTS Corals and Sponges 2026-03-09 creation revision publication NOAA/NMFS/EDM 79367 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/79367 WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Full Metadata Record View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. information Whitmire, Curt 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA curt.whitmire@noaa.gov author tableDigital This dataset includes records of coral and sponge catch identified in trawl hauls made during the West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey (WCGBTS). The WCGBTS is conducted at water depths ranging from 55 - 1,280 meters off the U.S. West Coast, including the States of Washington, Oregon, and California. The WCGBTS is conducted annually by NOAA Fisheries' Northwest Fisheries Science Center. These catch records are included in NOAA's Deep-Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) National Database for Deep-sea Corals and Sponges. NOAA DSCRTP compiles a national database of the known locations of deep-sea corals and sponges in U.S. territorial waters and beyond. Demersal and benthic fish occurrences that were recorded along with coral and sponge surveys are also included. The database is comprehensive, standardized, quality controlled, and networked to outside resources. The database schema accommodates both linear (trawls, transects) and point (samples, observations) data. The structure of the database is tailored to occurrence records of all the azooxanthellate corals, a subset of all corals, and all sponge species. Records shallower than 50 m are generally excluded in order to focus on predominantly deep-water species the mandate of the DSCRTP. The intention is to limit the overlap with light-dependent (and mostly shallow-water) corals. This dataset is part of the DSCRTP national database of deep-sea corals and sponges. It contributes to NOAA's requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) to identify and map locations of deep-sea corals and to submit this information for use by regional fishery management councils. At present, there is no comprehensive, national scale data portal for deep-sea corals and sponges. Given the authorities outlined in MSA, NOAA's DSCRTP will serve as a central data aggregator and distributor. The DSCRTP geodatabase will represent a baseline of historical observations from samples archived in museums, research institutions, and scientific literature augmented by observations collected during deep-water in situ surveys conducted as part of regional fieldwork initiatives. NOAA, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division onGoing Whitmire, Curt 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA curt.whitmire@noaa.gov custodian asNeeded This dataset will be updated annually as new catch records are processed, QC'd, and prepared for submission to NOAA's National Database for Deep-sea Corals and Sponges. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/metadata/landing-page/bin/gfx?id=gov.noaa.nodc:0145037 Preview graphic PNG EARTH SCIENCE EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES > CNIDARIANS > ANTHOZOANS/HEXACORALS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES > CNIDARIANS > ANTHOZOANS/HEXACORALS > HARD OR STONY CORALS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES > CNIDARIANS > ANTHOZOANS/OCTOCORALS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES > CNIDARIANS > ANTHOZOANS/OCTOCORALS > SEA FANS/SEA WHIPS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES > CNIDARIANS > ANTHOZOANS/OCTOCORALS > SEA PENS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES > CNIDARIANS > ANTHOZOANS/OCTOCORALS > SOFT CORALS EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/INVERTEBRATES > SPONGES EARTH SCIENCE > BIOSPHERE > ECOSYSTEMS > MARINE ECOSYSTEMS > BENTHIC theme Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords 23.3 OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN OCEAN > PACIFIC OCEAN > NORTH PACIFIC OCEAN place Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords 23.3 NETS > NETS TRAWL instrument Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords 23.3 ANIMALS - GROUP - NUMBER IN GROUP ANIMALS - INDIVIDUAL ANIMALS - INDIVIDUAL - COUNTS BENTHIC SPECIES BENTHIC SPECIES - TAXA COUNTS BENTHIC SPECIES - TAXA IDENTITIES CORAL CORAL - SPECIES IDENTIFICATION SPECIES IDENTIFICATION SPONGE SPECIES IDENTIFICATION TAXONOMIC CODE biological data theme NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS benthic biological survey - biological trawl theme NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) theme NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS oceanography theme WMO_CategoryCode Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary North Pacific Ocean Northeast Pacific Ocean (limit-180) Northwest Atlantic Ocean (limit-40 W) Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary West Coast - US/Canada place NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS net trawl instrument NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS DOC/NOAA/NMFS/NWFSC > Northwest Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. U.S. Department of Commerce dataCentre Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords 2017-04-24 publication 8.5 Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords GCMD Keyword Forum Page Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords information custodian Pacific Coast Groundfish Essential Fish Habitat project InPort otherRestrictions Cite As: Northwest Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey Observations of Deep-sea Corals and Sponges [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/79367. NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose. otherRestrictions Access Constraints: *** No Warranty*** The user assumes the entire risk related to its use of these data. NOAA Fisheries is providing these data "as is" and NOAA Fisheries disclaims any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. It is strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data to evaluate dataset limitations, restrictions or intended use. In no event will NOAA Fisheries be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages or lost profit resulting from any use or misuse of this data. otherRestrictions Use Constraints: Cite as: West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey, NOAA Fisheries, NWFSC/FRAM, 2725 Montlake Blvd. East, Seattle, WA 98112 otherRestrictions Distribution Liability: *** No Warranty*** The user assumes the entire risk related to its use of these data. NOAA Fisheries is providing these data "as is" and NOAA Fisheries disclaims any and all warranties, whether express or implied, including (without limitation) any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty expressed or implied is made regarding the accuracy or utility of the data on any other system or for general or scientific purposes, nor shall the act of distribution constitute any such warranty. It is strongly recommended that careful attention be paid to the contents of the metadata file associated with these data to evaluate dataset limitations, restrictions or intended use. In no event will NOAA Fisheries be liable to you or to any third party for any direct, indirect, incidental, consequential, special or exemplary damages or lost profit resulting from any use or misuse of this data. unclassified eng; US biota environment oceans Observations of deep sea corals, sponges, and sea pens from the U.S. West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey from 2001 to 2025. -125.96139 -117.27667 31.99861 48.45222 Extent of coral and sponge catch from the West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey, 2001-2025 Observations of deep sea corals, sponges, and sea pens from the U.S. West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey from 2001 to 2025. | Currentness: Publication Date 2001 2025 -1428 -35 false eng false Data Table Field Definitions for NOAA's National Database for Deep-sea Corals and Sponges (version 20260416-1) 2026-05-28 publication CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) Uncompressed Whitmire, Curt 2725 Montlake Boulevard East Seattle WA 98112 USA curt.whitmire@noaa.gov distributor Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program (DSCRTP) deepseacoraldata@noaa.gov distributor https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/waf/dsc-data/dashboards/NOAA_NWFSC_Bottom_Trawl_Survey.html WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link deep_sea_corals_6d6a_07ca_d08c.csv Navigate directly to the URL to view a summary of the dataset and to download the data in CSV format. download dataset Horizontal Positional Accuracy Horizontal Positional Accuracy for each catch record is reported as >1000 m. Nominal trawl duration for the West Coast Bottom Trawl Survey is 15 minutes, but tow lengths for this time period generally ranged between 365 and 3924, with a mean and standard deviation of 1387 m and 290 m, respectively. Since catch is not recorded until after the trawl net is recovered to the vessel, catch of individual specimens cannot be attributed to a specific location, but rather along the recorded track of the trawl along the seafloor. When available, start/end locations of the gear are included in the data attributes. Vertical Positional Accuracy Vertical Positional Accuracy for each catch record is reported as <50 m. Water depth attributed to each catch record was calculated as an average of depth measurements along the middle 80% of each trawl tow. Tows generally follow depth contours but water depths in practice varied by up to # m. The start and end of each tow was identified via a live feed of changes in acceleration as measured from bottom contact sensors mounted to the trawl footrope. During each tow, survey staff noted the time attributed to net touchdown and liftoff, and those times defined the start and end points / times of each trawl track, respectively. Catch records of corals, sponges, and sea pens, along with relevant attributes were extracted from the FRAM Data Warehouse via a structured query language (SQL) script. Further processing occurred in the R programming language (v.3.4) to validate scientific names in the FRAM Data Warehouse with the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Data Type: Occurrence (measured); Units: count; Observation Type: catch record; Sampling Instrument: trawl; Sampling and Analyzing Method: Numerous methods were utilized.; Data Quality Information: Points were checked in GIS to ensure no records were on land or locations far outside of North America and United States Territories. Completeness of Fields: In general, each catch record includes as much information as possible from the source database. Taxonomic Fields: As part of the QA/QC process, records were checked individually to ensure consistent use of valid taxonomic names. Each taxon identified in the 'ScientificName' field was cross-checked with currently valid scientific names listed in the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS; http://www.marinespecies.org). If the taxon name in the original source was a valid name (e.g., Lophelia pertusa), this was recorded in the 'ScientificName' field and the WoRMS AplhaID for that taxon was recorded in the 'WormsID' field. The Taxon Rank was recorded and higher taxonomic classification names for that taxon were filled in according to WoRMS. In cases where the taxon name recorded in the original source was not a currently accepted name (e.g., Lophelia prolifera), the currently accepted valid name was recorded in the 'ScientificName' field and the taxon name from the original source was recorded in the 'VerbatimScientificName' field. Derived fields: For historical records, certain fields were derived from information in other fields. For example, the identification of the 'VernacularNameCategory' or 'VernacularName' for a valid 'ScientificName' was derived from a review of the literature for that or taxon. 2026-03-06T00:00:00 Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov processor Catch records of corals, sponges, and sea pens, along with relevant attributes were extracted from the FRAM Data Warehouse via a structured query language (SQL) script. 2026-03-06T00:00:00 Whitmire, Curt curt.whitmire@noaa.gov processor Source Contribution: Information on the abundance and distribution of most Pacific Coast groundfish is obtained principally by bottom trawl surveys. The annual bottom trawl survey in this region is conducted by the NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center from four chartered fishing vessels that each conduct over 150 trawls during early summer to early autumn, and cover trawlable habitats from the U.S.-Canada to the U.S.-Mexico borders, at depths of 55 m to 1,280 m. This document covers the history of this survey, including descriptions of predecessor surveys in the region, statistical design, and survey protocols. The Northwest Fisheries Science Center's West Coast Groundfish Bottom Trawl Survey: History, Design, and Description 2017-01-15 publication NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center https://www.webapps.nwfsc.noaa.gov/assets/25/8655_02272017_093722_TechMemo136.pdf WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Source Citation URL Downloadable PDF document information publisher 3-Bridle, 4-Seam Bottom Trawl: Flat Sweep Trawl Nets A 4-seam, 3-bridle bottom trawl with a flat sweep attached to the twarl. For certain research activities, a liner may be sewn into the codend to minimize the loss of small fish.