Creation of a gamefish occurrence dataset from public-focused informational newsletters

A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate and Professional Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Biology Southern Connecticut State University New Haven, Connecticut December 2021

Abstract: In order to properly assess current ecological conditions, we need long-term ecological data. Historical ecology focuses on that long term, including the need to synthesize data from diverse sources. In the Long Island Sound, the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection has been collecting data for both scientific and recreational purposes for decades, but the format of the recreational data (narrative) is not suitable for scientific analysis. This project is to collate and annotate game fish occurrence data from the Fishing Report newsletters put out by DEEP every week during the fishing season and the DEEP Trophy Fish annual reports, over a 12-year period. Species, location, and measurement data (as available) have been compiled into a data set, with geolocation coordinates added for the identifiable locations. This thesis consists of the machine-readable dataset, the protocol for collating this data, and an assessment of the suitability of the data for different kinds of analysis. The dataset will be published openly for reuse, reanalysis, and collaborative additions.