CTD Data from the toothfish fishery at Heard Island and McDonald Island

• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Ocean Data Network
• Subjects: oceans; EARTH SCIENCE > OCEANS > SALINITY/DENSITY > SALINITY; CONDUCTIVITY; BATHYMETRY/SEAFLOOR TOPOGRAPHY > WATER DEPTH; OCEAN TEMPERATURE; FISHING VESSELS; CTD > Conductivity Temperature Depth; SHIPS; AMD; AMD/AU; CEOS; OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN > HEARD AND MCDONALD ISLANDS; GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR; KERGUELEN PLATEAU; Southern Ocean; Kerguelen; Heard Island; Heard; McDonald Islands; McDonald Island; Icefish; Patagonian Toothfish
• Online Access: https://researchdata.edu.au/ctd-data-toothfish-mcdonald-island/2821839

Progress Code: onGoing Statement: In most cases CTDs were calibrated by the NATA accredited CSIRO Oceanographic Calibration Facility prior to deployment. Calibration reports can be made available on application to the data owner. There was an issue relating to calibration of CTD numbers 15075,15078 and 15079 after their firmware was updated around January 2021 which may have corrupted the pressure sensor data and the programmed recording cycle. Purpose Data have been collected in order to inform understanding of environmental variability of oceanographic conditions on the fishing grounds. Australian vessels fishing in the Commonwealth managed fishery for Patagonian Toothfish and mackerel icefish in the Heard Island and MacDonald Island area deployed conductivity, temperature and depth (CTD) loggers attached to their fishing gear. In most cases CTDs were deployed on demersal longlines but in some cases they were attached to trawl nets and traps. Data were collected on five fishing vessels during the fishing seasons of 2019/20 and 2020/21 The data were collected with a CTD (Conductivity, Temperature and Depth Recorder) from the Sea Mammal Research Unit (SMRU) at St Andrew’s University Scotland. Files were downloaded with their TagConfig software in text (.txt) format. Recordings were made at (typically) 1 second intervals for the duration of the fishing event, recording data throughout the water column while setting the gear, then while fishing on the sea floor and again through the water column when the gear was retrieved. Each data file has data on date/time, pressure referenced to surface pressure (dbar), absolute pressure (dbar), temperature (°C), conductivity *mS/cm) and salinity (psu). The data are currently not linked to geographical coordinates which are confidential, but these may be able to be released on contact with the data owner and subject to appropriate confidentiality arrangements. Number of deployments: 2019/20: 25 2020/21: 27