Mackerel tracking in the Northwest Arm

Sampling event Observation
Latest version published by Ocean Tracking Network on Jun 15, 2026 Ocean Tracking Network

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 13,591 records in English (544 KB) - Update frequency: unknown
Metadata as an EML file download in English (32 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (17 KB)

Description

This is the OBIS extraction of the Ocean Tracking Network and Dalhousie University (DAL) Mackerel tracking in the Northwest Arm, consisting of the release tagging metadata, i.e. the location and date when the tagged animal was released, and summarized detection events of tagged individuals. If readers are interested in the source dataset they may also inquire with the project PIs as listed here or on the OTN web site (https://members.oceantrack.org/project?ccode=V2LNASTI). Abstract:The recent decisions to close Atlantic mackerel commercial and bait fisheries in Canada to promote stock rebuilding have drawn attention to knowledge gaps in the species' biology. Electronic tagging of mackerel can have an important role in documenting stock structure and movements and estimating key demographic parameters to enhance understanding of stock status toward more effective fisheries management. Electronic tagging has been used in the provision of fisheries management advice in many jurisdictions. It could provide similar benefits for mackerel if effective methods for handling and tagging the species can be developed. Mackerel are very sensitive to handling and efforts to track them with electronic tagging have been limited. In this project, we will develop tagging protocols using a field pilot in the Northwest Arm to evaluate survival of mackerel and track behaviour within the V2LNASTI array.

Data Records

The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 13,591 records.

2 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

Event (core)
13591
Occurrence 
13037
ExtendedMeasurementOrFact 
497

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

How to cite

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

Lennox RJ, Piczak M, van Beveren E. 2024. The Northwest Arm Strategic Tracking Infrastructure.. Accessed via the Ocean Tracking Network OBIS IPT on INSERT DATE

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is Ocean Tracking Network. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: d16deba1-adab-47d5-9337-4439c20af5bc.  Ocean Tracking Network publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Ocean Biodiversity Information System.

Keywords

ACOUSTIC TAGS; EARTH SCIENCE > BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION > ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES > FISH; Occurrence; Observation; Samplingevent

External data

The resource data is also available in other formats

Mackerel tracking in the Northwest Arm https://members.oceantrack.org/project?ccode=V2LNASTI ASCII HTM

Contacts

Ocean Tracking Network Data Centre
  • Originator ●
  • Point Of Contact
  • Data Manager
Ocean Tracking Network
  • Dalhousie University
B3H 4J1 Halifax
Nova Scotia
CA
  • +1 (902) 494-4101
Jonathan Pye
  • Metadata Provider
  • Data Manager
OTN
CANADA
Robert Lennox
  • Content Provider ●
  • Principal Investigator
Dalhousie University
CANADA
Morgan Piczak
  • Content Provider
University of British Columbia
CANADA
Elisabeth van Beveren
  • Content Provider
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maurice Lamontagne Institute
CANADA
Martin Castonguay
  • Content Provider
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maurice Lamontagne Institute
CANADA
Richard Davis
  • Content Provider
Dalhousie University
CANADA
Graham Goulette
  • Content Provider
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
USA
Adam Comeau
  • Content Provider
Dalhousie University
CANADA
James Hawkes
  • Content Provider
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
USA
Dave Hebert
  • Content Provider
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
CANADA
Sara Iverson
  • Content Provider
Dalhousie University
CANADA
Bruce Martin
  • Content Provider
JASCO Applied Sciences
CANADA
Leah Lewis-McCrea
  • Content Provider
Centre for Marine Applied Research
CANADA
Jean-Marc Nicolas
  • Content Provider
Emera Inc.
CANADA
Fred Whoriskey
  • Content Provider
Dalhousie University
CANADA
Pedro Nilo
  • Content Provider
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
CANADA
Marc Trudel
  • Content Provider
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
CANADA
Ryan Stanley
  • Content Provider
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
CANADA
Shelley Denny
  • Content Provider
Unama'ki Institute of Natural Resources
CANADA
Alfred White
  • Content Provider
Nova Scotia Community College
CANADA
Stephane Kirchhoff
  • Content Provider
Nova Scotia Community College
CANADA
Gregor Reid
  • Content Provider
Centre for Marine Applied Research
CANADA
Jennifer Miksis-Olds
  • Content Provider
University of New Hampshire Center for Acoustics Research and Education
USA
Harri Pettitt-Wade
  • Content Provider
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
CANADA
Kevin Heaney
  • Content Provider
Applied Ocean Science
USA
Anthony Lyons
  • Content Provider
University of New Hampshire
USA
Jeremy Broome
  • Content Provider
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada
CANADA
Joseph Warren
  • Content Provider
Stony Brook University
USA
Douglas Vandemark
  • Content Provider
University of New Hampshire
USA

Geographic Coverage

NS

Bounding Coordinates South West [43.6, -64.63], North East [45.65, -62.54]

Taxonomic Coverage

Species included below are tagged by this project and have left any embargo. Other individuals or species may later be appended to this dataset.

Species Scomber scombrus (Atlantic mackerel)

Temporal Coverage

Start Date 2024-04-01

Project Data

The recent decisions to close Atlantic mackerel commercial and bait fisheries in Canada to promote stock rebuilding have drawn attention to knowledge gaps in the species' biology. Electronic tagging of mackerel can have an important role in documenting stock structure and movements and estimating key demographic parameters to enhance understanding of stock status toward more effective fisheries management. Electronic tagging has been used in the provision of fisheries management advice in many jurisdictions. It could provide similar benefits for mackerel if effective methods for handling and tagging the species can be developed. Mackerel are very sensitive to handling and efforts to track them with electronic tagging have been limited. In this project, we will develop tagging protocols using a field pilot in the Northwest Arm to evaluate survival of mackerel and track behaviour within the V2LNASTI array.

Title Mackerel tracking in the Northwest Arm
Funding No funding information for this project was provided to OTN for publication. OTN is a research and technology development initiative headquartered at Dalhousie University, in Halifax, Nova Scotia. OTN is funded by the Canada Foundation for Innovation (CFI) and is grateful to have once received funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and the Social Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (SSHRC).
Study Area Description No study area description for this project was provided to OTN for publication.
Design Description A wide range of aquatic species are tagged with small electronic transmitters, surgically implanted or attached externally, which can operate for up to 20 years. Acoustic receivers arranged in line on the ocean floor as well as attached to buoys, gliders and large animals (e.g. grey seals) pick up the coded acoustic signals from these tags identifying each tagged sea creature that passes within half a kilometer of the receiver. Data collected by these listening stations are subsequently uploaded to one of many compatible data nodes, adding to the reach of an intercompatible network of networks designed and maintained by the Ocean Tracking Network, producing current and reliable records for every part of the globe. Certain classes of electronic tags and listening equipment (receivers) may also be outfitted or co-located with sensors to measure the ocean's temperature, depth, salinity, currents, chemistry, and other properties.

The personnel involved in the project:

Robert Lennox

Sampling Methods

Acoustic tags released.

Study Extent Program started 2024-04-01 and ran until
Quality Control OTN species names are verified using the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS). If species names on new data cannot be verified against (a) known valid names in OTN, and/or (b) WoRMs the Data Provider will be notified so they can check they are correct. Names that cannot be placed after checking with WoRMS are, where possible, placed on the basis of other authoritative sources, such as the Fishbase or ITIS; and once completely verified a request will be sent to WoRMS for addition of the verified species name. http://members.oceantrack.org/data/discovery/byspecies

Method step description:

  1. This resource was created by the Ocean Tracking Network Data Centre as a summarized representation of animal presence determined by electronic tagging efforts. Darwin Core (DwC) records were extracted from the OTN database and filtered and summarized according to international agreed-upon standards.

Bibliographic Citations

  1. Lennox RJ, Piczak M, van Beveren E. 2024. The Northwest Arm Strategic Tracking Infrastructure. In: Ocean Tracking Network Data Centre, Halifax Canada / otndc@dal.ca Retrieved: 2024-07-02 from db.load.oceantrack.org

Additional Metadata

Access Constraints: none Use Constraints: Acknowledge the use of specific records from contributing databases in the form appearing in the 'Citation' field thereof (if any); and acknowledge the use of the OBIS facility. For information purposes, email to info@obis.org the full citation of any publication made (printed or electronic) that cites OBIS or any constituent part. Recognize the limitations of data in OBIS. See https://manual.obis.org/policy.html#disclaimer for more details

Purpose
Alternative Identifiers d16deba1-adab-47d5-9337-4439c20af5bc
https://members.oceantrack.org/ipt/resource?r=otndalv2lnasti