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This data contains the locations of some observations of cold-water/deep-sea corals off the west coast of the United States. Records of coral catch originate from bottom trawl surveys conducted from 1980 to 2001 by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) and 2001 to 2005 by the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC). Locational information represent the vessel mid positions (for AFSC survey trawls) or "best position" (i.e., priority order: 1) gear midpoint 2) vessel midpoint, 3) vessel start point, 4) vessel end point, 5) station coordinates for NWFSC survey trawls) conducted as part of regular surveys of groundfish off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California by NOAA Fisheries. Only records where corals were identified in the total catch are included. Each catch sample of coral was identified down to the most specific taxonomic level possible by the biologists onboard, therefore identification was dependent on their expertise. When positive identification was not possible, samples were sometimes archived for future identification by systematist experts. Data were compiled by the NWFSC, Fishery Resource Analysis & Monitoring Division Purpose - Examination of the spatial and temporal distributions of observations of cold-water/deep-sea corals off the west coast of the United States, including waters off the states of Washington, Oregon, and California. It is important to note that these records represent only presence of corals in the area swept by the trawl gear. Since bottom trawls used during these surveys are not designed to sample epibenthic invertebrates, absence of corals in the catch does not necessary mean they do not occupy the area swept by the trawl gear. Data Credits - NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Resource Assessment & Conservation Engineering Division (RACE) NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Fishery Resource Analysis & Monitoring Division (FRAM) Contact: Curt Whitmire, NOAA NWFSC, Curt.Whitmire@noaa.gov