Description
This dataset compiles bottom trawl survey data on demersal fishes collected along the western and southwestern coasts of Taiwan from 2020 to 2023. The survey covered 41 sampling stations across 10 key locations, ranging from Miaoli in the north to Pingtung in the south. In addition to commonly surveyed nearshore shallow areas, the sampling also extended to offshore regions with depths reaching 450 meters, encompassing distinct underwater geomorphological features such as the Changyun Rise, the Kaoping Submarine Canyon, and the Penghu Channel. This dataset represents one of the few systematic investigations in Taiwan that span a wide spectrum of bathymetric and geomorphological gradients. All surveys were conducted aboard the R/V New Ocean Research III, using a standardized 6-meter-wide beam trawl towed for 30 minutes at a speed of approximately 2 knots. A total of 119 hauls were completed, yielding 10,494 individual records representing 219 demersal fish species across 80 families. For each haul, the dataset includes species identification, number of individuals, sampling date, station location, and water depth. Published in Darwin Core format in accordance with GBIF standards, this dataset provides essential baseline information for understanding demersal fish assemblages in soft-bottom ecosystems along Taiwan’s western coast. As one of the few publicly accessible bottom trawl datasets from East Asia, it supports applications in marine protected area (MPA) planning, species distribution modeling (SDM), ecosystem service valuation, and global data integration for sustainable ocean governance.
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 119 records.
1 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.
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:
Chen M H, Lai C C (2025). Bottom Trawl Survey of Demersal Fishes and Essential Fish Habitats along the Western Coast of Taiwan (2020–2023). Version 1.0. Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung Taiwan. Samplingevent dataset. https://ipt.taibif.tw/resource?r=demersal_fishes_2020-2024&v=1.0
Rights
Researchers should respect the following rights statement:
The publisher and rights holder of this work is Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung Taiwan. 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: 56fc46e6-3b01-4673-be20-e5f81ba405e4. Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung Taiwan publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility.
Keywords
Samplingevent; bottom trawl; Taiwan Strait; fish assemblage; open biodiversity data
Contacts
- Originator ●
- Point Of Contact
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1868-7061
- Principal Investigator
Geographic Coverage
The study was conducted along the western and southwestern coasts of Taiwan. Sampling took place at 41 stations distributed across 10 key locations from Miaoli in the north to Pingtung in the south, encompassing a wide range of latitudes (~22.2°N to ~24.6°N).
| Bounding Coordinates | South West [22.169, 119.756], North East [24.649, 120.743] |
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Taxonomic Coverage
The dataset comprises 10,494 individual records of demersal fishes, representing 219 species across 80 families. All fish specimens were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level, primarily species, using authoritative references including Fishes of Taiwan (Shen, 1993), Fishes of Japan (Nakabo, 2013), and FishBase. The taxonomic classification follows the Darwin Core standard and the taxonomy is aligned with the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy.
| Kingdom | Animalia |
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| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Chondrichthyes, Actinopterygii |
| Order | Gadiformes, Gasterosteiformes, Orectolobiformes, Tetraodontiformes, Ophidiiformes, Beryciformes, Stomiiformes, Torpediniformes, Lophiiformes, Carcharhiniformes, Aulopiformes, Myliobatiformes, Chimaeriformes, Scorpaeniformes, Perciformes, Rajiformes, Siluriformes, Anguilliformes, Pleuronectiformes, Clupeiformes, Myctophiformes |
| Family | Hemiscylliidae, Siganidae, Synodontidae, Haemulidae, Bregmacerotidae, Pristigasteridae, Percophidae, Carangidae, Myctophidae, Chimaeridae, Ogcocephalidae, Scyliorhinidae, Ephippidae, Platyrhinidae, Moridae, Apogonidae, Plotosidae, Sternoptychidae, Gerreidae, Hoplichthyidae, Samaridae, Scorpaenidae, Neoscopelidae, Triglidae, Pomacentridae, Monacanthidae, Drepaneidae, Nemichthyidae, Trichiuridae, Labridae, Lophiidae, Mullidae, Dactylopteridae, Urolophidae, Champsodontidae, Serranidae, Chlorophthalmidae, Polynemidae, Engraulidae, Rhinobatidae, Bothidae, Diodontidae, Narcinidae, Priacanthidae, Aploactinidae, Ostraciidae, Centriscidae, Tetraodontidae, Sciaenidae, Macrouridae, Stromateidae, Uranoscopidae, Terapontidae, Callionymidae, Ophichthidae, Nemipteridae, Callionymidae, Citharidae, Antennariidae, Cynoglossidae, Muraenidae, Gobiidae, Ophidiidae, Paralichthyidae, Sillaginidae, Platycephalidae, Acropomatidae, Pomacanthidae, Congridae, Sparidae, Trachichthyidae, Dasyatidae, Proscylliidae, Menidae, Pegasidae, Pinguipedidae, Labridae, Chaetodontidae, Aulopidae, Leiognathidae, Lutjanidae, Syngnathidae, Soleidae |
Temporal Coverage
| Start Date / End Date | 2020-05-17 / 2023-07-15 |
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Project Data
This project aimed to investigate the composition of demersal fish communities along the western and southwestern coasts of Taiwan through standardized bottom trawl surveys conducted from 2020 to 2023 aboard the R/V New Ocean Research III. The surveys covered 10 representative coastal locations from Miaoli in the north to Pingtung in the south, with a total of 41 trawl stations spanning from nearshore shallow waters to offshore areas reaching depths of 450 meters. Each haul was conducted using a standardized 6-meter-wide beam trawl, towed at a speed of approximately 2 knots for 30 minutes. A total of 119 hauls were completed, resulting in 10,494 individual records of demersal fishes, representing 219 species across 80 families.
| Title | Long-term Marine Biodiversity Research and Monitoring Program Supported by MOST and NSTC in Taiwan (2019-2023) |
|---|---|
| Identifier | MOST 108- 2611-M-110-005, 108-2621-M-110-003, 109-2611-M-110-006, 109- 2621-M-110-002, 110-2611-M-110-016, 110-2621-M-110-001, NSTC 111-2611-M-110- 006, 111-2621-M-110-002, 112-2611-M-029, 112-2621-M-110- 002 |
| Funding | This dataset was generated as part of long-term research projects supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) and the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Taiwan. The specific grant numbers supporting this work include: MOST: 108-2611-M-110-005, 108-2621-M-110-003, 109-2611-M-110-006, 109-2621-M-110-002, 110-2611-M-110-016, 110-2621-M-110-001 NSTC: 111-2611-M-110-006, 111-2621-M-110-002, 112-2611-M-029, 112-2621-M-110-002 |
| Study Area Description | The project focused on the soft-bottom marine habitats along the western and southwestern coasts of Taiwan, covering a wide latitudinal and bathymetric range. The study area includes nearshore and offshore environments featuring complex geomorphological structures such as the Changyun Rise, Penghu Channel, and Kaoping Submarine Canyon. |
| Design Description | The purpose of this study was to investigate the species composition of demersal fish assemblages and the influence of environmental factors along the western and southwestern coasts of Taiwan. A total of 41 sampling stations were established across 10 key locations, spanning a wide range of latitudes (approximately 22.2°N to 24.6°N) and depths (15 to 450 meters). The sampling design included both nearshore and offshore soft-bottom habitats and geomorphologically distinct areas such as the Changyun Rise, the Penghu Channel, and the Kaoping Submarine Canyon. A standardized beam trawl protocol and concurrent environmental measurements were applied to ensure data consistency and facilitate integrated ecological analysis. |
Sampling Methods
All sampling followed a standardized protocol using a 6-meter-wide beam trawl with a net body length of 8 meters and a cod-end mesh size of 2.5 cm. Each haul lasted for 30 minutes at a towing speed of approximately 2 knots. The total trawled area per haul was estimated at approximately 11,112 m². Each haul was treated as an independent sampling unit. Onboard, the fish catch was roughly sorted by major taxonomic groups, and all specimens were immediately frozen at −20°C for preservation. After returning to the laboratory, specimens were transferred to laboratory freezers for further identification and data recording. Sampling was conducted during both the warm (May–October) and cold (November–April) seasons to capture seasonal variation in fish assemblages. Stations spanned a depth gradient from 15 to 450 meters, covering both continental shelf and slope environments, and included geomorphologically distinct features such as submarine canyons, underwater rises, and channels.
| Study Extent | The study was conducted along the western and southwestern coasts of Taiwan between May 2020 and July 2023. Sampling took place at 41 stations distributed across 10 key locations from Miaoli in the north to Pingtung in the south, encompassing a wide range of latitudes (~22.2°N to ~24.6°N) and depths (15 to 450 meters). The survey area includes both nearshore and offshore soft-bottom habitats, with geomorphologically distinct features such as the Changyun Rise, the Penghu Channel, and the Kaoping Submarine Canyon. The trawl surveys targeted demersal fish communities inhabiting unconsolidated sedimentary substrates across continental shelf and slope zones. |
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| Quality Control | All fish specimens were identified by experienced taxonomists specializing in marine fish fauna of Taiwan. Species identification was based on morphological characteristics following standard taxonomic keys and literature, including Shen (1993), Nakabo (2013), and FishBase (2024). Scientific names were verified and standardized according to the updated taxonomy in FishBase and the Taiwan Fish Database (FishDB). Data quality control was conducted throughout the data compilation process. Species names, geographic coordinates, sampling dates, and depth information were checked for consistency and errors. The dataset was structured and formatted following the Darwin Core standard for publication on GBIF. |
Method step description:
- All fish specimens were identified to the lowest possible taxonomic level, typically to species, and the number of individuals per species was recorded. Some specimens were retained as vouchers. Taxonomic identification followed authoritative references, including Shen (1993), Nakabo (2013), and FishBase (2025).
Additional Metadata
| Alternative Identifiers | https://ipt.taibif.tw/resource?r=demersal_fishes_2020-2024 |
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