Processed CTD continuous observations from the Pelagic Fish Biomass Survey on the Africana Voyage 078, November 1989

Here we present processed downcast Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) continuous data collected between 07 November and 30 November 1989 during Voyage 078 on the FRS Africana, in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) region on the west coast and the Agulhas Current Large Marine Ecosystem (ACLME) region on the south coast of Southern Africa. Neil Brown MK3 and MK4 CTD instruments were used to measure pressure, temperature and conductivity through the water column during research and monitoring cruises between 1983 and 2000. The objectives of the Pelagic Fish Biomass Survey were to conduct an estimation of the biomass and population structure of anchovy, pilchard and round herring off South Africa by means of echo-integration and midwater trawling; to conduct an estimation of anchovy biomass by means of the egg production method; to describe the distribution and behaviour patterns of commercially harvested epi-pelagic and meso-pelagic fish, and the influence of oceanographic variables on these; to collect biological data on reproduction, condition and diet of pelagic fish species; to conduct an examination of the distribution, abundance and production of zooplankton in relation to the environment and to pelagic fish distribution, condition, diet and spawning activity; and lastly to conduct a profiling of currents by means of the Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP).