A 50-year (1971-2021) mesozooplankton biomass data base in the Canary Current System

Mesozooplankton have been widely used as a bioindicator of marine ecosystems due to their key position in ocean food webs, rapid response to environmental changes, and ubiquity. Here, we present the compilation of mesozooplankton biomass values in the Canary Current System over 50 years (1971-2021) in three different areas in relation to mesoscale activity: (1) scarcely affected by mesoscales structures (North of the Canary Islands), (2) affected by mesoscale activity and the presence of the islands (South and around the islands), and (3) close to the Northwest African coastal upwelling system (Upwelling influenced). This dataset contains the reference where mesozooplankton biomass values were obtained (indicated when not published), latitude, longitude, area, date, fraction, station number, net type and sampled period.