Irish Marine Sports Fish Tagging Programme Dataset

This is the dataset for shark, skates and rays caught, tagged and released by charter skippers and sea anglers for Inland Fisheries Ireland (IFI) (formerly Inland Fisheries Trust, then Central Fisheries Board). The dataset, relating to use of conventional tags, spans from 1970 to 2018. The fish capture and tagging location, as listed in the data table, is bound in the relevant ICES statistical sub rectangle (ices.dk/data/maps/Pages/ICES-statistical-rectangles.aspx). The individual rectangles measure 20' of longitude by 10' of latitude and are roughly square in shape, measuring approximately 10 nautical miles by 10 nautical miles (or 18x18 km) at 60°N. Where required capture locations were assigned, because for many fish (all species) point-specific co-ordinates were not provided by all taggers. Fish tagged in any named bay were assigned to a centroid within that bay, and those tagged by specific skippers were assigned a point location 5 km from their vessel’s port of departure. Tagging events are generally distributed around the Irish coast but some fish were tagged off the UK coast. An interactive map incorporating all the tagging (open data) can be accessed in the app hosted in IFI’s Open Data Hub.

The co-operation of all charter skippers and anglers involved in this long-term tagging programme is much appreciated