Long term benthic community dataset for fish and cephalopods on the continental shelves of the Bay of Biscay and the Celtic Sea

EVHOE surveys have been providing observational data on bentho-demersal communities on the continental shelves of the Bay of Biscay and the Celtic Sea for more than 30 years. The surveys operate a standardized fishing gear and are conducted on the continental shelves from 15 to 600 m depth, usually in the fourth quarter of the year, starting at the end of October. The main objectives are the monitoring of 22 stocks of benthic fish species and 10 cephalopods from the North-East Atlantic. The data also provide a description of regional diversity by including 250 taxa of fish and 45 taxa of cephalopods and others “commercial” invertebrates. The dataset is structured in 3 tables providing information on stations, numbers, biomass of observed species and size distributions for a selection of species. This dataset is of great interest for the long-term monitoring of the continental shelves of the Bay of Biscay and the Celtic Sea. Moreover, on a larger scale, by being integrated into a European network of bottom trawl surveys, these data play an essential role in studying the evolution of ecosystems from continental shelves to the scale of the eastern North Atlantic.