Documentation for the CCAMLR survey database and length-density analysis

Over the past two years, the CCAMLR Data Centre has undertaken a major overhaul of the research survey database and the routines used for length-density analyses. This overhaul was necessary because of the increasing quantity and diversity of survey data and their importance in the assessments of WG-FSA. Historically, trawl survey data and commercial trawl data were managed as a single dataset. While appropriate in earlier years, this procedure constricted the type of survey data that could be stored in the CCAMLR database and placed limitations of their interpretation. The Data Centre’s extensive overhaul of the survey data has resolved these ‘historical’ difficulties. This paper briefly describes the work done, the structure of the new survey database, and the steps in the length-density analysis. The document should be considered as a working draft, to be added to, and updated, as the database and analyses develop.