Otter trawling fish assemblages at the Changyun Rise off central western Taiwan in 2017-2021

Meng-Hsien Chen

doi:10.15468/ah85ra

Otter trawling fish assemblages at the Changyun Rise off central western Taiwan in 2017-2021

Citation

Chen M, Lai C C (2023). Otter trawling fish assemblages at the Changyun Rise off central western Taiwan in 2017-2021. Department of Oceanography, National Sun Yat-sen University, Kaohsiung Taiwan. Sampling event dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/ah85ra accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-07-12.

Description

This dataset is derived from ten surveys with a total of 20 otter trawling sessions conducted at the Changyun Rise off the western coast of Taiwan between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021. The surveys were conducted at two sites, inshore (15-25 m depth) and offshore (40-50 m depth), utilizing a commercial otter trawling boat prior to the commencement of the offshore wind farm development. The dataset includes 8,026 individual fish, encompassing 51 families, 84 genera, and 128 taxa. Not only did the composition and abundance (ind./104m2) of fish species significantly differ between the inshore and offshore sites, but spatiotemporal variation was also observed in dominant fish species between 2017-2018 and 2020-2021. This dataset serves as a baseline for demersal fish prior to the development of the Changhua offshore wind farm. It offers critical information for subsequent environmental impact assessments, proposing mitigation measures, and establishing continuous monitoring networks.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

Commercial otter trawler , a common practice in Changyun Rise (CYR), was conducted at two sites off Changhua, central western Taiwan. These include an inshore site (FS20) with a water depth of 15-25 meters (approx. 24°02'N, 120°16'E) and an offshore site (FS40) with a water depth of 40-50 meters (approx. 24°06'N, 120°00'E).

Sampling

Surveys were carried out during daytime using a local commercial otter trawler, with a width of 8 m, body length of 70 m, body mesh size of 7 cm, and cod end mesh size of 4 cm. The trawler was operated at water depths ranging from 15-25 m at the inshore site, approximately 9 km off the coastline, and 40-50 m at the offshore site, approximately 42 km off the coastline. Trawling was conducted at a speed of 3-4 knots for 20 minutes at each site.

Quality Control

The biological samples were identified to the lowest taxa according to Chen et al. (2019), Froese & Pauly (2021), and Shao (2021).

Method steps

The fish specimens caught by each trawl haul were immediately extracted from the catches, roughly classified by species and frozen at − 20°C on board. Subsequently, all fish specimens were transferred to the laboratory on land for taxonomic identification.

Taxonomic Coverages

N/A

Sciaenidae
rank: family
Platycephalidae
rank: family
Synodontidae
rank: family
Rhynchobatidae
rank: family
Mullidae
rank: family
Torpediniformes
rank: order
Ariidae
rank: family
Dasyatidae
rank: family
Fistulariidae
rank: family
Triacanthidae
rank: family
Carangidae
rank: family
Ophichthidae
rank: family
Scorpaeniformes
rank: order
Animalia
rank: kingdom
Chordata
rank: phylum
Perciformes
rank: order
Gasterosteiformes
rank: order
Leiognathidae
rank: family
Ephippidae
rank: family
Diodontidae
rank: family
Anguilliformes
rank: order
Narcinidae
rank: family
Cynoglossidae
rank: family
Soleidae
rank: family
Aulopiformes
rank: order
Pleuronectiformes
rank: order
Tetraodontidae
rank: family
Actinopterygii
rank: class
Tetraodontiformes
rank: order
Chondrichthyes
rank: class
Myliobatiformes
rank: order
Sillaginidae
rank: family
Rajiformes
rank: order
Siluriformes
rank: order

Geographic Coverages

Sampling was conducted at two sites off Changhua, central western Taiwan.

Bibliographic Citations

Contacts

Meng-Hsien Chen
originator
position: Professor
Department of Oceanography
70, Leihai Rd, Gushen Dist.
Kaohsiung
TW
email: mhchen@mail.nsysu.edu.tw
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1868-7061

Chien Cheng Lai
metadata author
position: research assistant
Department of Oceanography
70, Leihai Rd, Gushen Dist.
Kaohsiung
TW
email: visxit00@gmail.com

Meng-Hsien Chen
principal investigator
position: Professor
Department of Oceanography
70, Leihai Rd, Gushen Dist.
Kaohsiung
TW
email: mhchen@mail.nsysu.edu.tw
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1868-7061

Chien Cheng Lai
author
position: research assistant
Department of Oceanography
70, Leihai Rd, Gushen Dist.
Kaohsiung
TW
email: visxit00@gmail.com

Kuo-Shu Chen
author
position: Associate research fellow
National Academy of Marine Research
11F., No. 25, Chenggong 2nd Rd., Qianzhen Dist.
Kaohsiung
TW
email: kuoshuchen@namr.gov.tw

Chih-Wei Chang
author
position: Research fellow
National Academy of Marine Research
11F., No. 25, Chenggong 2nd Rd., Qianzhen Dist.
Kaohsiung
TW
email: changcw@namr.gov.tw

Meng-Hsien Chen
administrative point of contact
position: Professor
Department of Oceanography
70, Leihai Rd, Gushen Dist.
Kaohsiung
TW
email: mhchen@mail.nsysu.edu.tw
userId: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1868-7061