This record describes the fish survey data collected as part of the 1993-1996 South East Fishery Ecosystem Study undertaken by CSIRO Division of Fisheries. Demersal trawls (33 per survey) were carried out at a range of depths (25m to 200m) on seven transects across the continental shelf in eastern Bass Strait, south-west Victoria, and south-west NSW waters. Data were collected in July 1993 (cruise SS 05/93), August 1994 (cruise SS 05/94), April 1996 (cruise SS 02/96) and November 1996 (cruise SS 06/96). Extensive biological and distribution data were collected on a wide range of demersal fish including SEF quota species such as jack mackerel, tiger flathead, school whiting, redfish, spotted warehou and jackass morwong, among many others. All species, length-frequency, and other catch related data are held in the main Southern Surveyor biological database in Hobart. Other attributes recorded include weight, sex, and gonad maturation stage, for certain target species. Additional samples were taken from this material for biological analyses of stomach contents, stable isotopes, otolith analyses, etc. (see separate metadata entry). In addition to the broad-scale, transect-based surveys described above, representatives of 4 separate habitat types (Big Gutter, Gabo Reef, Big Horsehoe and Broken Reef) were sampled more intensively and the data will be analysed along with the broad-scale survey dataset.
