Methods
Samples are taken by trawl from the coastal zone of the South Atlantic Bight (SAB) between Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, and Cape Canaveral, Florida (Figure 1). Multi-legged cruises are conducted in spring (early April - mid-May), summer (mid-July - early August), and fall (October - mid-November).
Stations are randomly selected from a pool of stations within each stratum. The number of stations sampled in each stratum is determined by optimal allocation. A total of 102 stations are sampled each season within twentyfour shallow water strata, representing an increase from 78 stations previously sampled in those strata by the trawl survey (1990-2000). Strata are delineated by the 4 m depth contour inshore and the 10 m depth contour offshore. In previous years (1990-2000), stations were sampled in deeper strata with station depths ranging from 10 to 19 m in order to gather data on the reproductive condition of commercial penaeid shrimp. Those strata were abandoned in 2001 in order to intensify sampling in the more shallow depth-zone.
SEAMAP-SA Shallow Water Trawl Survey is an Adobe PDF file which gives you more information on the methods and materials. Adobe® Reader® is required to open the file and is available as a free download from the Adobe® Web site.
