A dataset from bottom trawl survey around Taiwan

Kwang-Tsao Shao; Z. H. Wu

doi:10.3897/zookeys.198.3032

A dataset from bottom trawl survey around Taiwan

Citation

Shao K, Lin J, Wu Z H (2020). A dataset from bottom trawl survey around Taiwan. Version 4.1. Taiwan Biodiversity Information Facility (TaiBIF). Occurrence dataset https://doi.org/10.3897/zookeys.198.3032 accessed via GBIF.org on 2025-07-12.

Description

Bottom trawl fishery is one of the most important coastal fisheries in Taiwan both in production and economic values. However, its annual production started to decline due to overfishing since the 1980s. Its bycatch problem also damages the fishery resource seriously. So, the government banned the bottom fishery within 3 nautical miles along the shoreline in 1989. To evaluate the effectiveness of this policy, a four year survey was conducted from 2000-2003, in the waters around Taiwan and Penghu (Pescadore) Islands, one region each year respectively. All fish specimens collected from trawling were brought back to lab for identification and measurement of their weight. These raw data have been integrated and established in Taiwan Fish Database (http://fishdb.sinica.edu.tw). They have also been published through TaiBIF (http://taibif.tw) and FishBase. This dataset contains 631 fish species and 3,529 records, making it the most complete demersal fish fauna and their temporal and spatial distributional data on the soft marine habitat in Taiwan.

Sampling Description

Study Extent

The offshore waters around Taiwan was separated into 4 regions. Three to four fixed stations were further selected in each region. From 2000 to 2003, fish samplings were collected in one region each year using bottom trawl fishing boats.

Sampling

The sampling design for collecting bottom trawl harvest from coastal and offshore waters around Taiwan was to separate the waters into four regions and collect one region each year during 2000-2003. In each region, 3-4 fixed stations with various water depths were chosen according to different topography and traditional fishing ground in that region. Eastern Taiwan was excluded because it belongs to open ocean and deep-sea environment and there was no bottom trawl fishery in the region. The locality names (or nearest fishing harbours) and water depths in each region were outlined below: 2000 – Northern Taiwan (Jinshan: 100 m; mixed with pebbles and sand); Northeastern Taiwan (Aodi: 100m, 150m and 200 m; and Dasi: 50, 100, 200, 400, 600 and 800 m; all sandy bottoms); 2001 – Southwestern Taiwan (Xingda Harbor: 10, 30, 50, 70 and 100 m; Kaohsiung Harbor: 100, 200 and 300 m; Donggang: 100, 200 and 300 m; Fenggang: 100, 200 and 300 m; sandy and muddy bottoms); 2002 – Western Taiwan (Hsinchu: 60, 65 and 70 m; Miaoli: 10, 30 and 50 m; Changhua: 10, 20 and 40 m; all sandy bottoms); 2003 – Penghu Islands (16 depths ranging from 25 to 95 m; all sandy and muddy bottoms).

Quality Control

All the scientific names of fish samples were validated by the updated fish checklist in our Taiwan Fish Database or TaiBNET (http://taibnet.sinica.edu.tw) before they are added into database. Afterward, they were validated again by matching them against FishBase and Catalog of Fishes, California Academy of Sciences, for further correction. If a specimen was rare or it might belong to an undescribed or new species, it was photographed in fresh and then the specimen and its tissue sample were both catalogued and deposited at the Biodiversity Research Museum of Biodiversity Research Center (ASIZP of BRCAS). The latitude and longitude of trawling routes were plotted on Google Maps and outliers detected.

Method steps

Different bottom trawl fishing boats were used in different regions or harbours with slightly different fishing gears designed for the samplings. Basically, at each station, the sampling was carried out by an otter trawl towing at 3 nm/hr for one hour. The longitude and latitude data were recorded using the GPS system on the boat. After the recovery of trawl, all the specimens were identified to the species level and their weight measured.

Taxonomic Coverages

Surveys of fish resources

Actinopterygii, Chondrichthyes, Myxini
rank: class
Perciformes, Scorpaeniformes, Pleuronectiformes, Aulopiformes, Anguilliformes, Gadiformes, Ophidiiformes, Tetraodontiformes, Carcharhiniformes, Myctophiformes, Lophiiformes, Myliobatiformes, Rajiformes, Squaliformes, Stomiiformes, Beryciformes, Gasterosteiformes, Argentiniformes, Clupeiformes, Siluriformes, Zeiformes, Chimaeriformes, Torpediniformes, Myxiniformes, Orectolobiformes, Polymixiiformes, Ateleopodiformes, Gonorhynchiformes, Albuliformes, Heterodontiformes, Squatiniformes
rank: order
Acropomatidae, Alepocephalidae, Ammodytidae, Antennariidae, Aploactinidae, Apogonidae, Argentinidae, Ariidae, Ateleopodidae, Aulopidae, Bembridae, Blenniidae, Bothidae, Bregmacerotidae, Bythitidae, Caesionidae, Callionymidae, Caproidae, Carangidae, Carapidae, Carcharhinidae, Centrolophidae, Centrophoridae, Cepolidae, Chaetodontidae, Champsodontidae, Chaunacidae, Cheilodactylidae, Chimaeridae, Chlorophthalmidae, Clupeidae, Congridae, Cynoglossidae, Dactylopteridae, Dalatiidae, Dasyatidae, Diodontidae, Diplphidae, Diretmidae, Drepaneidae, Echeneidae, Emmelichthyidae, Engraulidae, Ephippidae, Etmopteridae, Fistulariidae, Gempylidae, Gerreidae, Glaucosomatidae, Gobiidae, Gonorynchidae, Gonostomatidae, Gymnuridae, Haemulidae, Hemiscylliidae, Heterodontidae, Hexatrygonidae, Holocentridae, Hoplichthyidae, Kyphosidae, Labridae, Leiognathidae, Lethrinidae, Lophiidae, Lutjanidae, Macroramphosidae, Macrouridae, Malacanthidae, Menidae, Microstomatidae, Monacanthidae, Monocentridae, Moridae, Mullidae, Muraenesocidae, Muraenidae, Myctophidae, Myliobatidae, Myxinidae, Narcinidae, Nemichthyidae, Nemipteridae, Neoscopelidae, Nettastomatidae, Nomeidae, Notacanthidae, Ogcocephalidae, Ophichthidae, Ophidiidae, Orectolobidae, Ostraciidae, Paralepididae, Paralichthyidae, Parascylliidae, Parazenidae, Pegasidae, Pentacerotidae, Percichthyidae, Percophidae, Peristediidae, Pinguipedidae, Platycephalidae, Platyrhinidae, Plotosidae, Polymixiidae, Polynemidae, Pomacentridae, Priacanthidae, Pristigasteridae, Proscylliidae, Rachycentridae, Rajidae, Rhinobatidae, Samaridae, Sciaenidae, Scombridae, Scorpaenidae, Scyliorhinidae, Serranidae, Siganidae, Sillaginidae, Soleidae, Sparidae, Sphyraenidae, Sphyrnidae, Squalidae, Squatinidae, Sternoptychidae, Stomiidae, Stromateidae, Synaphobranchidae, Syngnathidae, Synodontidae, Terapontidae, Tetraodontidae, Torpedinidae, Trachichthyidae, Triacanthodidae, Triakidae, Trichiuridae, Triglidae, Triodontidae, Uranoscopidae, Urolophidae, Zeidae
rank: family
Animalia
rank: kingdom
Chordata
rank: phylum

Geographic Coverages

Waters off Taiwan

Bibliographic Citations

Wu Chung-Han (2002) Community structure of bottom trawl fihes in the coastal waters of northern and north-eastern Taiwan. Master thesis of National Taiwan Ocean University. -
Yeh H.M, M.L. Chiou, Y.C. Liao, H.C. Ho, T.H. Wu, P.F. Lee, C.H. Chang, K.T. Shao (2006) Deep-sea fish diversity around Taiwan. In Deep Sea 2003: Conference on the Governance and Management of Deep-sea Fisheries. FAO Fisheries Proceedings (3/2): 3-10. -
Shao, K. T., H. C. Ho*, P. L. Lin, P. F. Lee, M. Y. Lee, C. Y. Tsai, Y. C. Liao, Y. C. Lin, J. P. Chen & H. M. Yeh (2008) A checklist of the fishes of southern Taiwan, northern South China Sea. Raffl. Bull. Zool. Supplement No. 19: 233–271. -
Shao, K.T. *, L.Y. Hsieh, Y.Y. Wu and C.Y. Wu (2002) Taxonomic and distributional database of fishes in Taiwan. Env. Biol. Fish. 65: 235-240. -
Shao, K. T.*, Y. C. Lin, H. H. Lin (2007) Linking the Taiwan fish database to the global database. Data Science Journal. Special Issue for 20th CODATA Conf. Beijing. S164-S171. -
Shao, K.T. Taiwan Fish Database. WWW Web electronic publication. version 2009/1. http://fishdb.sinica.edu.tw, (2012-5-18). -

Contacts

Kwang-Tsao Shao
originator
position: Research Fellow
Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica
No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Rd. Nankang Dist.
Taipei
115
TAIWAN
TW
Telephone: 886-2-27887330
email: zoskt@gate.sinica.edu.tw
homepage: http://fishdb.sinica.edu.tw/eng/shao.php

Jack Lin
metadata author
position: Software Engineer
Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica
No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Rd., Nankang Dist.
Taipei
115
TAIWAN
TW
Telephone: 886-2-27899579
email: jacklin@gate.sinica.edu.tw
homepage: http://fishbase.tw/Collaborators/CollaboratorSummary.php?ID=1619

Z. H. Wu
originator
position: Research Assistant
Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica
No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Rd., Nankang Dist.
Taipei
115
TAIWAN
TW
Telephone: 886-2-27887330
email: zh@gate.sinica.edu.tw

H. M. Yeh
author
position: Post-Doctor
Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica
No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Rd., Nankang Dist.
Taipei
115
TAIWAN
TW

T. Y. Cheng
author
position: Research Assistant
Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica
No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Rd., Nankang Dist.
Taipei
115
TAIWAN
TW

Kwang-Tsao Shao
administrative point of contact
position: Research Fellow
Biodiversity Research Center Academia Sinica
No. 128, Sec. 2, Academia Rd. Nankang Dist.
Taipei
115
TAIWAN
TW
Telephone: 886-2-27887330
email: zoskt@gate.sinica.edu.tw
homepage: http://fishdb.sinica.edu.tw/eng/shao.php