European Ocean Biodiversity Information System

The database includes CPUE (n/h and kg/h) indexes of 95 demersal species for 271 hauls at 151 fixed stations. Species synonymies were updated according to the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). Some species are grouped into multispecies categories that group taxonomically similar species, i.e. species of the same genus or family (e.g. Raja spp., Triglidae). Information on the sediment type was also reported for each station. The depth of each station was extracted from the EMODnet Digital Bathymetry. Fish samples were taken with a cotton bottom otter-trawl net with wing mesh size of 55 mm, cod-end mesh size of 26 mm, foot-rope of 44 m and head-rope of 35 m. Trawling was carried out during daylight. The average tow speed was 3 knots. The purpose of the research was to determine the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of the demersal communities of fish, crustaceans and cephalopods and to assess the possibility of their exploitation. This survey was conducted in the period when the demersal fish and invertebrate communities were not intensely exploited (“post-war conditions”), and thus this data Jucan serve as a reference baseline for the following changes.