In October 2019 we chose 15 sites from the 2019 EVHOE survey for environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. The French international EVHOE bottom trawl survey is carried out annually during autumn in the BoB to monitor demersal fish resources. At each site, we sampled seawater using Niskin bottles deployed with a circular rosette. There were nine bottles on the rosette, each of them able to hold ∼5 l of water. At each site, we first cleaned the circular rosette and bottles with freshwater, then lowered the rosette (with bottles open) to 5 m above the sea bottom, and finally closed the bottles remotely from the boat. The 45 l of sampled water was transferred to four disposable and sterilized plastic bags of 11.25 l each to perform the filtration on-board in a laboratory dedicated to the processing of eDNA samples. To speed up the filtration process, we used two identical filtration devices, each composed of an Athena® peristaltic pump (Proactive Environmental Products LLC, Bradenton, Florida, USA; nominal flow of 1.0 l min–1 ), a VigiDNA 0.20 μm filtration capsule (SPYGEN, le Bourget du Lac, France), and disposable sterile tubing. Each filtration device filtered the water contained in two plastic bags (22.5 l), which represent two replicates per sampling site. We followed a rigorous protocol to avoid contamination during fieldwork, using disposable gloves and single-use filtration equipment and plastic bags to process each water sample. At the end of each filtration, we emptied the water inside the capsule that we replaced by 80 ml of CL1 conservation buffer and stored the samples at room temperature following the specifications of the manufacturer (SPYGEN, Le Bourget du Lac, France). We processed the eDNA capsules at SPYGEN, following the protocol proposed by Polanco-Fernández et al., (2020). Half of the extracted DNA was processed by Sinsoma using newly developped ddPCR assays for European seabass (Dicentrachus labrax), European hake (Merluccius merluccius) and blackspot seabream (Pagellus bogaraveo).  The other half of the extracted DNA was analysed using metabarcoding with teleo primer. The raw metabarcoding data set is available at https://www.doi.org/10.16904/envidat.442 Bottom trawling using a GOV trawl was carried out before or after water sampling. The catch was sorted by species and catches in numbers and weight were recorded. No blackspot seabream individuals were caught.   Data content: * ddPCR/: contains the ddPCR counts and DNA concentrations for each sample and species. * SampleInfo/: contains the filter volume for each eDNA sample. * StationInfo/: contains metadata related to the data collected in the field for each filter. * Metabarcoding/: contains metabarcoding results for teleoprimer. * Trawldata/: contains catch data in numbers and weight (kg).      

The ICES Working Group on Fisheries Benthic Impact and Trade-offs (WGFBIT) has developed an assessment framework based on the life history trait longevity, to evaluate the benthic impact of fisheries at the regional scale. In order to apply this framework to the Mediterranean sea, several Mediterranean longevity databases were merged together with existing North-East Atlantic ones to develop a common database. Longevity was fuzzy coded into four longevity classes: <1, 1-3, 3-10 and >10 years. Both benthic mega and macrofauna organisms are included in this dataset. Further details about both the purpose and the methodology may be found in ICES (2022) and Cuyvers et al. (2023). The result of the final dataset merging is one dataset containing the fuzzy coded average longevity (and standard deviation) for 2264 taxa and for each, the number of databases used. 

Understanding the dynamics of species interactions for food (prey-predator, competition for resources) and the functioning of trophic networks (dependence on trophic pathways, food chain flows, etc.) has become a thriving ecological research field in recent decades. This empirical knowledge is then used to develop population and ecosystem modelling approaches to support ecosystem-based management. The TrophicCS data set offers spatialized trophic information on a large spatial scale (the entire Celtic Sea continental shelf and upper slope) for a wide range of species. It combines ingested prey (gut content analysis) and a more integrated indicator of food sources (stable isotope analysis). A total of 1337 samples of large epifaunal invertebrates (bivalve mollusks and decapod crustaceans), zooplankton, fish and cephalopods, corresponding to 114 species, were collected and analyzed for stable isotope analysis of their carbon and nitrogen content. Sample size varied between taxa (from 1 to 52), with an average of 11.72 individuals sampled per species, and water depths ranged from 57 to 516 m. The gut contents of 1026 fish belonging to ten commercially important species: black anglerfish (Lophius budegassa), white anglerfish (Lophius piscatorius), blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou), cod (Gadus morhua), haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus), hake (Merluccius merluccius), megrim (Lepidorhombus whiffiagonis), plaice (Pleuronectes platessa), sole (Solea solea) and whiting (Merlangius merlangus) were analyzed. The stomach content data set contains the occurrence of prey in stomach, identified to the lowest taxonomic level possible. To consider potential ontogenetic diet changes, a large size range was sampled. The TrophicCS data set was used to improve understanding of trophic relationships and ecosystem functioning in the Celtic Sea. When you use the data in your publication, we request that you cite this data paper. If you use the present data set (TrophicCS) for the majority of the data analyzed in your study, you may wish to consider inviting at least one author of the core team of this data paper to become a collaborator /coauthor of your paper.

This dataset gathers isotopic ratios (carbon and nitrogen) and concentrations of both priority (mercury species and polychlorinated biphenyls congeners) and emerging (musks and sunscreens) micropollutants measured in a host-parasite couple (hake Merluccius merluccius muscle and in its parasite Anisakis sp) from the south of Bay of Biscay in 2018. In addition, the hake infection degree measured as the number of Anisakis sp. larvae was added for each hake collected.

REPHYTOX dataset includes long-term time series on phycotoxins in marine bivalve molluscs, since 1987, along the whole French coast. The dataset covers results on lipophilic toxins, PSP toxins, ASP toxins, and palytoxins. REPHYTOX was a full part of the REPHY network until 2015. The whole dataset is available.

210Pb, 226Ra and 137Cs were measured by non-destructive gamma spectrometry on marine sediment cores, collected during RIKEAU 2002 cruise on board r/v Thalia, on the shelf of the Bay of Biscay

This dataset contains bio-optical measurements from BioGeoChemical-Argo (BGC-Argo) profiling floats complemented with ocean-colour satellite matchups of variables related to the detection of coccolithophore blooms dominated by Emiliania huxleyi. BGC-Argo float data cover the global ocean from November 2012 to December 2018 and include measurements of the particulate backscattering coefficient (BBP_float in m-1), the concentration of Chlorophyll-a (CHLA_float in mg m-3), and the particulate beam attenuation coefficient (CP_float in m-1) with data processing and quality control described in the manuscript entitled “Detection of coccolithophore blooms with BioGeoChemical-Argo floats” submitted to Geophysical Research Letters. The data represent near-surface ocean conditions, calculated as the average value in the top 15m of the water column. Daily ocean-colour satellite data were downloaded from the GlobColour project (ftp://ftp.hermes.acri.fr) with a spatial resolution of 4km and matched with every BGC-Argo float observation by using a 5x5 pixel box and a 9-day temporal window. For each float observation, we extracted concurrent satellite data of the concentrations of Particulate Inorganic Carbon (PIC_sat in mmol m-3) and Particulate Organic Carbon (POC_sat in mmol m-3), from which we derived the proportion of PIC_sat to the total particulate carbon concentration (PIC_POC_sat in % and defined as PIC_sat / [PIC_sat+POC_sat]). Coccolithophore bloom periods were identified using annual times series of PIC_sat and PIC_POC_sat at each profile location as described in the submitted manuscript, and the column “inside_coccolithophore_bloom” reports the float observations occurring inside such blooms.

The West Gironde Mud Patch (WGMP) is a mud deposit located 25 km from the mouth of the Gironde Estuary in the Bay of Biscay. This 4-metre-thick clay-silt feature, which extends over an area of 420 km2, is found at depths between 30 and 80 meters. The main objectives of the JERICObent7 cruise, in July 2019, were to characterise the evolution of the WGMP’s benthic ecosystem in terms of its sedimentary, biogeochemical and ecological properties and to reconstruct climate variations and identify potential anthropogenic impacts over the last few centuries. To this end, a precise chronological framework was established for the sedimentary archives of the last few decades using 210Pbxs (T1/2 = 22.3 years). Interface cores were collected at stations 1, 3 and 4 along a cross-shelf transect. Twin Kullenberg cores were collected at sites 3 and 4 for geochemical (KGL) and palaeoceanographic (JB7-ST) investigations. Each interface core was carefully extruded at 0.5 cm intervals from the top of the core to 4 cm, and then at 1 cm intervals until the bottom was reached. Kullenberg cores were only collected at sites 3 and 4. Depending on their intended use, the Kullenberg cores were sampled at different resolutions, the depth of each sediment layer corresponded to the depth from the top of the core. These layers were then used to determine the dry bulk density and radioisotope activities of interest (210Pb, 226Ra,  228Th, 137Cs, 40K). Excess 210Pb was used to establish the realignment and chronological framework of the interface and Kullenberg cores.

This dataset gather isotopic ratios (carbon and nitrogen) and concentrations of mercury species (methyl and inorganic mercury) measured in several tissues (muscle, liver and gonad) for three commonly consumed fish species from the south Bay of Biscay (France) in 2017 and 2018.

The general objective of the PEACETIME cruise is to study the fundamental processes and their interactions at the ocean-atmosphere interface, occurring after atmospheric deposition (especially Saharan dust) in the Mediterranean Sea, and how these processes impact the functioning of the pelagic ecosystem. During the proposed 33 days cruise in the western and central Mediterranean Sea in May 2017, we will study the impact of atmospheric deposition on the cycles of chemical elements, on marine biogeochemical processes and fluxes, on marine aerosols emission and how ongoing changes will impact the functioning of Mediterranean Sea communities in the future. The cruise is designed to explore a variety of oligotrophic regimes. Combining in situ observations both in the atmosphere and the ocean, and in situ and minicosm-based on-board process studies, the 40 embarking scientists from atmosphere and ocean sciences will characterize the chemical, biological and physical/optical properties of both the atmosphere and the sea-surface microlayer, mixed layer and deeper waters. The PEACETIME strategy (season and cruise track) associated to a combination of dust transport forecasting tools and near real-time satellite remote sensing is designed to maximize the probability to catch a Saharan dust deposition event in a stratified water column in order to follow the associated processes in-situ. This coordinated multidisciplinary effort will allow us to fill the current weaknesses/lacks in our knowledge of atmospheric deposition impact in the ocean and feedbacks to the atmosphere in such oligotrophic systems. As a key joint-project between MERMEX and CHARMEX : The PEACETIME project comes in the scope of the regional multidisciplinaryprogramme MISTRALS (Mediterranean Integrated STudies at Regional And Local Scales ), which aims at predicting the evolution of this region following strong expected changes in climate and human pressures. In this framework, the PEACETIME project constitutes a key joint project between the ChArMEx (the Chemistry-Aerosol Mediterranean Experiment) and MERMEx (Marine Ecosystems Response in the Mediterranean Experiment) initiatives, enabling to gather communities of atmospheric chemists and marine biogeochemists around the common question of assessing the impact of atmospheric deposition on the marine biogeochemical processes and air-sea exchanges.