Nephrops Underwater Television Survey Stations

Survey stations represent the locations where underwater television surveys have taken place during Nephrops Underwater Television (UWTV) surveys. The prawn (Nephrops norvegicus) are common around the Irish coast occurring in geographically distinct sandy/muddy areas were the sediment is suitable for them to construct their burrows. Nephrops spend a great deal of time in their burrows and their emergence from these is related to time of year, light intensity and tidal strength. Areas surveyed for Nephrops burrows include the Aran Grounds, the Irish Sea, Celtic Sea and Porcupine Bank. Nephrops surveys occur annually since 2002. Burrows were surveyed using a standard underwater television camera deployed from the RV Celtic Voyager research vessel. Burrows were counted to support the calculation of the abundance and distribution of Nephrops in the areas identified for populations. Nephrops survey stations deployed by the fisheries science survey team of the Marine Institute (Ireland). Survey stations completed for all UWTV stations.