Fish assemblages in central and southern California using fish catch and effort data from the Recreational Fisheries Information Network

This dataset was provided by the Recreational Fisheries Information Network (RecFIN), and contained GPS coordinates for 680 CPFV trips during 1999 and 2001 at depths ranging from 0 - 2200 m. Fishers targeted specific species during each trip, and visited between 1 and 22 locations. Each trip/location combination was considered a unique site and was used as a sample unit in analyses. RecFIN provided information on four hook and line fishing methods: free drift, stationary drift, anchor, and troll. The trolling trips were removed before analysis because they targeted specific pelagic species and therefore provide limited information about diversity. In addition, fish that were not present in at least 5% of the trawls were also removed. The final data set analyzed contained 18 fish species captured by hook and line at 2967 trip/location combinations. Site groups were calculated using the Bray-Curtis dissimilarity coefficient with average means clustering (Romesburg, 1991).