Northeast Atlantic species distribution shifts over the last two decades

Marine species are widely shifting their distributions in response to global changes, and it is commonly expected they will move northward and to greater depths to reach cooler, less disturbed habitats. However, local manifestations of global changes, anthropogenic pressures, and species characteristics may lead to unanticipated and varied responses by individual species. In this regard, the Celtic-Biscay Shelf is a particularly interesting study system because it has historically been heavily fished and occurs at the interface between two distinct biogeographic provinces, its community is thus comprised of species with diverse thermal preferenda. In the context of rapidly warming temperatures and intense fishery exploitation, we investigated the distribution shifts of 93 taxa (65 Actinopteri, 10 Elasmobranchii, 11 Cephalopoda, 5 Malacostraca, and 2 Bivalvia), which were sampled annually from 1997 to 2020 during a scientific bottom trawl survey. We used a set of 11 complementary spatial..., This dataset was collected during the scientific bottom trawl survey EVHOE (Evaluation of fishing resources of Western Europe; EVHOE cruise, R/V Thalassa, IFREMER, DOI: 10.18142/8) carried out between October and December from 1997 to 2020 along the Celtic-Biscay Shelf., , # Northeast Atlantic species distribution shifts over the last two decades

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cc2fqz6fd](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.cc2fqz6fd)

Raw data of this study comes from the scientific bottom trawl survey EVHOE (Evaluation of fishing resources of Western Europe; EVHOE cruise, R/V Thalassa, IFREMER, DOI: 10.18142/8) carried out between October and December from 1997 to 2020 along the Celtic-Biscay Shelf (CBS). The latter occurs at the interface between the Celtic Sea (CS) and the Bay of Biscay (BoB). EVHOE relies on a stratified random sampling design in which 119 to 158 stations were sampled annually. The EVHOE survey is funded through the European Union Data Collection Framework.

At each station, specimens were collected using a 36/47 GOV bottom trawl (opening width: 20 m; height: 4 m; mesh size: 20 mm) operated for 30 min at a towing speed of 4 knots. Once on board, species were identified to the finest possible taxonomic scale. Due to variation in taxonomic r...