scholarly journals Methods and results of in situ target-strength measurements of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) during combined trawl-acoustic surveys

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1225-1232 ◽  
Author(s):  
Viacheslav A. Ermolchev

Abstract Ermolchev, V. A., 2009. Methods and results of in situ target-strength measurements of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) during combined trawl-acoustic surveys. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1225–1232. This paper presents methods for collecting acoustic and biological data, including in situ target-strength (TS) estimates of fish, with results presented for Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) obtained from combined trawl-acoustic surveys. These include fish in the small, average, and maximum length classes, within the range 5–136 cm (total fish length, LT). The investigations were done using Simrad EK500/EK60 echosounders with split-beam transducers and special post-processing software. Based on an analysis of data collected in the Barents Sea during 1998–2007, a relationship TS = 25.2 log10(LT) − 74.8 was obtained for Atlantic cod at 38 kHz, with TS in dB and LT in centimetres. Seasonally, and for depths between 50 and 500 m, the variability in cod TS was 3.1 dB, decreasing with depth. The largest day–night difference in mean TS was in August–September, with changes as large as 1.0–1.7 dB. In the other seasons, the day–night difference was <1.0 dB.

1981 ◽  
Vol 4 (6) ◽  
pp. 527-532 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. C. EGIDIUS ◽  
J. V. JOHANNESSEN ◽  
E. LANGE

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 1361-1370
Author(s):  
Bryony L. Townhill ◽  
Rebecca E. Holt ◽  
Bjarte Bogstad ◽  
Joël M. Durant ◽  
John K. Pinnegar ◽  
...  

Abstract. A new dataset on the diet of Atlantic cod in the Barents Sea from the 1930s to the present day has been compiled to produce one of the largest fish diet datasets available globally. Atlantic cod is one of the most ecologically and commercially important fish species in the North Atlantic. The stock in the Barents Sea is by far the largest, as a result of both successful management and favourable environmental conditions since the early 2000s. As a top predator, cod plays a key role in the Barents Sea ecosystem. The species has a broad diet consisting mainly of crustaceans and teleost fish, and both the amount and type of prey vary in space and time. The data – from Russia, Norway and the United Kingdom – represent quantitative stomach content records from more than 400 000 fish and qualitative data from 2.5 million fish. Many of the data are from joint collaborative surveys between Norway and Russia. The sampling was conducted throughout each year, allowing for seasonal, annual and decadal comparisons to be made. Visual analysis shows cod diets have changed considerably from the start of the dataset in the 1930s to the present day. There was a large proportion of herring in the diets in the 1930s, whereas in more recent decades capelin, invertebrates and other fish dominate. There are also significant interannual asynchronous fluctuations in prey, particularly capelin and euphausiids. Combining these datasets can help us understand how the environment and ecosystems are responding to climatic changes, and what influences the diet and prey switching of cod. Trends in temperature and variability indices can be tested against the occurrence of different prey items, and the effects of fishing pressure on cod and prey stocks on diet composition could be investigated. The dataset will also enable us to improve parametrization of food web models and to forecast how Barents Sea fisheries may respond in the future to management and to climate change. The Russian data are available through joint projects with the Polar Branch of the Russian Federal Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO). The UK and Norwegian data (Townhill et al., 2020) are being released with this paper at https://doi.org/10.21335/NMDC-2139169383.


2011 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 927 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manu Sistiaga ◽  
Bent Herrmann ◽  
Kåre N. Nielsen ◽  
Roger B. Larsen

This investigation demonstrates how a multidisciplinary approach based on the FISHSELECT framework, sea trial data, underwater recordings, and laboratory investigations of netting can be applied to size selectivity studies and related management issues. We studied the morphological characteristics of Atlantic cod ( Gadus morhua ) and haddock ( Melanogrammus aeglefinus ) in the Barents Sea bottom trawl fishery. The differences between the L50 values (i.e., the size at which a fish has a 50% chance of being retained) that were recorded for the two species during sea trials can to a large extent be explained by the morphological differences between them. Because of these morphological differences, L50 is always larger for cod than for haddock with the grid and codend setup commonly used in the area. While catch separation of cod and haddock is a management objective in the Barents Sea, we demonstrate that the morphological differences between the species and the grid and codend setup in force today limit achievable differences in L50 to 5.5 cm. Furthermore, we show that for this fishery, the scope for increasing L50 differences between these species by changing the mesh shape configuration of the codend is minimal.


2017 ◽  
Vol 74 (9) ◽  
pp. 2389-2397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Irgens ◽  
Olav S Kjesbu ◽  
Arild Folkvord

Abstract This study documents how settlement of juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) in the Barents Sea affects otolith growth and morphology. A simple method to objectively discriminate between age 0 and age 1 cod sampled in late summer was demonstrated by using only two otolith morphometric descriptors: area and perimeter. In the pre-settled 0-group cod, otolith lobe formation clearly increased with fish size, resulting in high otolith crenulation. This trend was disrupted during settlement, resulting in noticeably less crenulated otoliths of the settled 1-group cod sampled in winter. Combined observations of otolith shape, fish size, and body condition suggest that environmental factors associated with settlement during autumn, particularly reduced food intake, directly affect lobe formation leading to less crenulated otoliths. Comparably reduced body condition and otolith crenulation of 0-group cod in bottom trawls (vs. pelagic trawls) may indicate early settlement or vertical exploratory behaviour in the Barents Sea Ecosystem Survey (in August–September) and, thus, an underrepresentation of 0-group cod from pelagic trawling.


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Andrews ◽  
Jørgen S. Christiansen ◽  
Shripathi Bhat ◽  
Arve Lynghammar ◽  
Jon-Ivar Westgaard ◽  
...  

As a result of ocean warming, the species composition of the Arctic seas has begun to shift in a boreal direction. One ecosystem prone to fauna shifts is the Northeast Greenland shelf. The dispersal route taken by boreal fauna to this area is, however, not known. This knowledge is essential to predict to what extent boreal biota will colonise Arctic habitats. Using population genetics, we show that Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua), beaked redfish (Sebastes mentella), and deep-sea shrimp (Pandalus borealis) specimens recently found on the Northeast Greenland shelf originate from the Barents Sea, and suggest that pelagic offspring were dispersed via advection across the Fram Strait. Our results indicate that boreal invasions of Arctic habitats can be driven by advection, and that the fauna of the Barents Sea can project into adjacent habitats with the potential to colonise putatively isolated Arctic ecosystems such as Northeast Greenland.


2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1205-1211 ◽  
Author(s):  
George A. Rose

Abstract Rose, G. A. 2009. Variations in the target strength of Atlantic cod during vertical migration. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1205–1211. Experiments conducted at sea in June 1999 and January 2000 indicated that the mean target strength (TS) of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) varies not just with length, but also with pressure (depth) and fish orientation, particularly during vertical migration. In June, when fish were migrating and spawning, vertical migration was pronounced, extending up to 150 m off the seabed, and the associated TS declined by as much as 5 dB. In January, when the fish were located nearer the seabed, mean TS was more stable and matched a conventional model of TS vs. length [L, cm; i.e. TS = 20 log(L) − 66] based on measurements of ex situ fish orientated horizontally and positioned at close range. This paper demonstrates that mean TS is inversely related (p < 0.05) to the range off the seabed (r, m), which includes 90% of fish. Based on this finding, a new multivariate TS model is proposed: TS = 20 log(L) − 65 − 0.05 r. In this model, r is a proxy for swimbladder volume and fish orientation. A survey in May 2007 found that cod (mean L = 63 cm) dispersed in such a way that single targets could be resolved up to 100 m from the seabed. Measurements of TS of in situ individual fish (TSindividual) and mean TS inferred from a comparison of area-backscattering coefficients (sa) and count-based densities (TSindirect) were positively correlated with a slope not different from unity. Means of these TS estimates were −32.4 and −32.2 dB, respectively, or ∼2.3 dB less than that predicted by the conventional model. In contrast, the new multivariate model predicts TS = −32.5 dB, which is nearly identical with the means of TSindividual and TSindirect.


2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1271-1280 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olav Nikolai Breivik ◽  
Geir Storvik ◽  
Kjell Nedreaas

In the Barents Sea and adjacent water, fishing grounds are closed for shrimp fishing by the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries Monitoring and Surveillance Service (MSS) if the expected number of juvenile fish caught are predicted to exceed a certain limit per kilogram shrimp (Pandalus borealis). Today, a simple ratio estimator, which does not fully utilize all data available, is in use. In this paper, we construct a Bayesian hierarchical spatiotemporal model for improved prediction of the bycatch ratio in the Barents Sea shrimp fishery. More predictable bycatch will be an advantage for the MSS because of more correct decisions and better resource allocation and also for the fishermen because of more predictable fishing grounds. The model assumes that the occurrence of shrimp and juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) can be modeled by linked regression models containing several covariates (including 0-group abundance estimates) and random effects modeled as Gaussian fields. Integrated nested Laplace approximations is applied for fast calculation. The method is applied to prediction of the bycatch ratio for Atlantic cod.


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