Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Survey

ArcGIS Feature Service

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InPort Metadata

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Description

The standardized NEFSC Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Survey has covered an area from Cape Hatteras to Georges Bank. The survey was historically conducted every three years, with the entire area sampled for surfclams and quahogs each survey. Starting in 2019 through present, a six-year rotation was implemented to cover the entire region and both species for assessment purposes. Each year either the northern or southern region is surveyed, and focuses on surfclams or quahogs for assessment purposes (although data are collected for both species each year). The rotational schedule by year is: 1. surfclam south, 2. surfclam north, 3. surfclam south, 4. surfclam north, 5. quahog south, 6. quahog north. The dredge had been operated in a consistent fashion using the same survey protocols and gear from 1982 until 2011. In 2012, the platform was changed to an industry vessel, which resulted in a gear change from a 5’ hydraulic dredge to a 13’ commercial style hydraulic dredge following a calibration study. Five-minute tows are made at stations that are randomly selected to provide unbiased abundance measurements.

Spatial Extent

Layers

id name type geometryType
0 SMIT_OQ_STRATA Feature Layer esriGeometryPolygon
1 SMIT_SC_STRATA Feature Layer esriGeometryPolygon

Fields

SMIT_OQ_STRATA

Description
Scientific survey strata for the Ocean Quahog Survey.

name alias description dataType
OID OID Original object ID esriFieldTypeBigInteger
SURVEY_NAME Survey name Name of NEFSC scientific survey esriFieldTypeString
GROUP_1 Group_1 Strata ID esriFieldTypeString
ARSQNM2 Area (sq nm) Strata area in square nautical miles esriFieldTypeDouble
ARSQKM2 Area (sq km) Strata area in square kilometers esriFieldTypeDouble
MN_DPTH Minimum depth Minimum depth in stratum in meters esriFieldTypeDouble
MIN_LAT Minimum latitude Minimum latitude in stratum esriFieldTypeDouble
MIN_LON Minimum longitude Minimum longitude in stratum esriFieldTypeDouble
MAXDPTH Maximum depth Maximum depth in stratum in meters esriFieldTypeDouble
MAX_LAT Maximum latitude Maximum latitude in stratum esriFieldTypeDouble
MAX_LON Maximum longitude Maximum longitude in stratum esriFieldTypeDouble
AVGDPTH Average depth Average depth in stratum in meters esriFieldTypeDouble
AVGLAT Average latitude Average latitude in stratum esriFieldTypeDouble
AVGLON Average longitude Average longitude in stratum esriFieldTypeDouble
MDN_DPT Median depth Median depth in stratum in meters esriFieldTypeDouble
MEDN_LT Median latitude Median latitude in stratum esriFieldTypeDouble
MEDN_LN Median longitude Median longitude in stratum esriFieldTypeDouble

SMIT_SC_STRATA

Description
Scientific survey strata for the Atlantic Surfclam Survey.

name alias description dataType
OID OID Original object ID esriFieldTypeBigInteger
SURVEY_NAME Survey name Name of NEFSC scientific survey esriFieldTypeString
NAME Name Strata name esriFieldTypeString
ACRES Area (acres) Area of strata in acres esriFieldTypeDouble