Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf - Ocean Biodiversity Information System

Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf

Statistics

Occurrence records	5,460,076
Species level	4,791,829
Species	6,569
Taxa	10,098
Datasets	434
Time range	1838 - 2025

Data quality

Dropped records

Dropped records	0
Not marine	3,218
No WoRMS match	57,282
No coordinates	0
Zero coordinates	0

Taxonomic issues

Marine unsure	8,767
No accepted name available	25,956

Missing and invalid fields

Field	Missing	Invalid
coordinateUncertaintyInMeters	3,204,785	54,772
eventDate	53,118	0
maximumDepthInMeters	3,441,309	428,504
minimumDepthInMeters	3,365,576	428,456
occurrenceStatus	758,255	0
scientificName	14,611	0
scientificNameID	85,249	412,118

Spatial issues

Records on land	54,364
More than 20 km from shore	832
Depth exceeds bathymetric depth	35,185

Top datasets

Dataset	Records
Quoddy Region Pelagics Telemetry Published 2024-11-07	1,267,969
Maritimes Spring Research Vessel Surveys Published 2022-03-23	526,047
Northeast Fisheries Science Center Bottom Trawl Survey Data Published 2021-08-25	435,795
Maritimes Summer Research Vessel Surveys Published 2022-03-23	435,255
USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center Seabirds Compendium Published 2021-08-27	308,150
DATRAS Canadian Maritimes Trawl Survey Published 2025-03-20	291,988
NEFSC Benthic Database Published	209,781
ECNASAP - East Coast North America Strategic Assessment Published 2021-04-06	170,402
National Museum of Natural History Invertebrate Zoology Collections Published	130,486
World Ocean Database 2009 Published 2020-11-17	114,813

Distribution

Disclaimer: EEZ boundaries based on Marine Regions (no endorsement).

Records

Composition

detailed (class) simple

Top taxa

Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa Unique species IUCN Red List All taxa

Scientific name	Records
Myoxocephalus scorpius (Linnaeus, 1758) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	776,164
Myoxocephalus octodecemspinosus (Mitchill, 1814) Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	396,345
Melanogrammus aeglefinus (Linnaeus, 1758) VU Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	294,850
Merluccius bilinearis (Mitchill, 1814) NT Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	164,879
Salmo salar Linnaeus, 1758 NT Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	140,706
Squalus acanthias Linnaeus, 1758 VU Phylum Chordata > Class Elasmobranchii	130,896
Clupea harengus Linnaeus, 1758 Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	119,821
Gadus morhua Linnaeus, 1758 VU Phylum Chordata > Class Teleostei	116,316
Homarus americanus H. Milne Edwards, 1837 Phylum Arthropoda > Class Malacostraca	112,588
Larus argentatus Pontoppidan, 1763 Phylum Chordata > Class Aves	70,608

Newest species

Scientific name	Records	Since
Micromonas pusilla (Butcher) Manton & Parke, 1960 Phylum Chlorophyta > Class Mamiellophyceae	178	2022
Halidrys siliquosa (Linnaeus) Lyngbye, 1819 Phylum Ochrophyta > Class Phaeophyceae	4	2022
Phaeocystis antarctica Karsten, 1905 Phylum Haptophyta > Class Coccolithophyceae	8	2022
Bathycoccus prasinos Eikrem & Throndsen, 1990 Phylum Chlorophyta > Class Mamiellophyceae	374	2022
Thalassiosira curviseriata Takano, 1981 Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	7	2022
Saccharina japonica (Areschoug) C.E.Lane, C.Mayes, Druehl & G.W.Saunders, 2006 Phylum Ochrophyta > Class Phaeophyceae	13	2022
Zannichellia palustris L. Phylum Tracheophyta > Class Magnoliopsida	18	2022
Desmarestia japonica H.Kawai, T.Hanyuda, D.G. Müller, E.C.Yang, A.F.Peters & F.C. Küpper, 2014 Phylum Ochrophyta > Class Phaeophyceae	14	2022
Plagiogramma brockmanni Phylum Heterokontophyta > Class Bacillariophyceae	6	2022
Micromonas commoda Baren, Bachy & Worden, 2016 Phylum Chlorophyta > Class Mamiellophyceae	25	2022

Data providers

Name	Records
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration	1,479,807
Ocean Tracking Network	1,353,585
Ocean Tracking Network	1,353,365
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada	1,342,006
Dalhousie University	1,340,989
Ministère des Forêts, de la Faune et des Parcs du Québec	1,308,988
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maurice Lamontagne Institute	1,268,320
Atlantic Salmon Federation	1,267,986
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Gulf Fisheries Centre	1,267,977
Atlantic Canada Fish Farmers Association	1,267,969