ICES Statistical Rectangles

Have you ever seen a map with lots of squares? The ICES Statistical Rectangles are like a super-duper map of the ocean, but instead of streets, it has lines of latitude and longitude. These lines make a grid of big squares that cover a huge part of the ocean, from way down south to way up north.

It’s like drawing a giant checkerboard on the sea to help scientists keep track of everything that happens there.

These ocean squares aren't all the same size! Each one is about as wide as 55 school buses parked end-to-end and as tall as a very tall building. They are made by drawing lines that go up and down (longitude) and lines that go side to side (latitude).

Scientists give each square a special code, like a secret address, so they can easily talk about where they found a cool fish or where a boat was sailing.

Scientists use these ocean squares to learn all sorts of amazing things! They can track where fish like to swim and eat, where boats are fishing, and what the bottom of the ocean looks like. It’s like having a special notebook for every part of the sea, helping them understand how to take care of our oceans and all the creatures that live in them.

It helps them share their discoveries easily with other scientists.

Each ICES rectangle has a unique code, like a secret nickname! The code starts with a number that tells you how far north it is, and then a letter and another number that tells you how far east or west it is. For example, a code like ‘37F3’ is like saying, ‘Go to this specific spot on our giant ocean map!’ This helps scientists be super precise when they are sharing information about the sea.