Total abundance of the common sea star Asterias rubens from 1998 to 2014. The common sea star Asterias rubens is the most common starfish in the north-east Atlantic. It usually grows to between 10-30 cm across and feeds on a variety of benthic organisms.

Samples were taken with a 2-m beam trawl from 1998 to 2014 and catches were sieved over 5-mm mesh size. 365 stations were sampled (usually 24 per year, which were randomly distributed within 24 statistical rectangles of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)). Sampling did not take place in 2001 and 2002. Abundance data were standardized to a tow length of 250 m