scholarly journals Measuring herring densities with one real and several phantom research vessels

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1264-1269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruben Patel ◽  
Egil Ona

Abstract Patel, R., and Ona, E. 2009. Measuring herring densities with one real and several phantom research vessels. – ICES Journal of Marine Science 66: 1264–1269. Vessel-induced avoidance can potentially cause a large bias in acoustic estimates of schooling, pelagic-fish biomass. This paper presents a method for quantifying this uncertainty. Volume-backscattering strength (Sv) from a horizontally projecting, multibeam sonar (Simrad MS70) is resampled to form synthetic, vertical, echosounder beams to the side of the survey vessel. These data are analysed as if they were collected from phantom vessels surveying parallel transects at fixed ranges from the real vessel. The nautical-area-backscattering coefficients (sA) from the synthetic echograms are compared with those measured by conventional 70 and 120 kHz echosounders (Simrad EK60) on the real vessel. Data collected in 2006 from schools of Norwegian spring-spawning herring are used to illustrate the method and explore its limitations. Potential effects of vessel-induced avoidance are evaluated by comparing the mean sA values observed from the phantom vessels with those observed from the real vessel. The technique also allows direct estimates of the mean lateral-aspect target strength of in situ herring.

2009 ◽  
Vol 66 (6) ◽  
pp. 1191-1196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geir Pedersen ◽  
Nils Olav Handegard ◽  
Egil Ona

Abstract Pedersen, G., Handegard, N. O., and Ona, E. 2009. Lateral-aspect, target-strength measurements of in situ herring (Clupea harengus). – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1191–1196. Surveys of schooling herring with the new multibeam sonar (Simrad MS70) pose new challenges when converting the echo energy to estimates of biomass. Because the sonar projects horizontally, data and models of lateral-aspect, herring target strength (TS) are needed. In this study, the TS of herring is measured with a horizontally projecting, split-beam echosounder (Simrad EK60). Target-tracking methods are used to estimate swimming angles relative to the horizontal (θ) of individual herring within schools and layers and to evaluate how θ and TS change with depth (z). Measurements of θ and TS are used as inputs for a model describing TS as a function of θ and z. The results indicate that the mean lateral-aspect TS of in situ herring depends on z. Moreover, the mean lateral-aspect TS is more sensitive to z than the mean dorsal-aspect TS predicted by a published model. At z = 50 m, the mean lateral-aspect TS is nearly 2.5 dB higher than the mean dorsal-aspect TS. Conversely, at z = 350 m, the lateral-aspect TS is 5 dB lower. These results suggest that herring swimbladders do not compress uniformly with increasing pressure, but compress dorsoventrally more than laterally.


2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (1) ◽  
pp. 46-51 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xianyong Zhao

Abstract The target strength of hairtail (Trichiurus haumela) in the Yellow Sea was measured in situ with a 38 kHz, split-beam echosounder on 2 January 2001. The fish measured were of the 2000 year class, its anal length ranged from 62 to 115 mm, with a mean of 89.8 mm. The mean target strength of these young hairtail was estimated to be −49.2 dB, with a 95% confidence interval of (−49.4, −49.0) dB. This provided a rare and useful reference for the acoustic-abundance estimation of hairtail.


2012 ◽  
Vol 70 (2) ◽  
pp. 431-439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard L. O'Driscoll ◽  
Johannes Oeffner ◽  
Adam J. Dunford

Abstract O'Driscoll, R. L., Oeffner, J., and Dunford, A. J. 2013. In situ target strength estimates of optically verified southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70: 431–439. Estimates of the acoustic target strength (TS) of southern blue whiting (Micromesistius australis) at 38 kHz were obtained using an autonomous acoustic–optical system (AOS) mounted on a demersal trawl. Data were collected from aggregations of spawning adult [mean fork length (FL) 34.4 cm] and immature (mean FL 24.6 cm) southern blue whiting south of New Zealand. Mean TS was estimated from 162 tracks containing 695 echoes from targets identified from video as southern blue whiting. The mean TS was –37.9 dB with a 95% confidence interval (CI) of –39.7 to –36.6 dB for 21 immature fish and –34.6 dB (95% CI –35.4 to –34.0 dB) for 141 adults. A logarithmic fit through the mean TS values produced a TS–fork length (FL) relationship from optically verified targets of TS = 22.06 log10FL – 68.54. This new relationship gives TS values within 1 dB of those estimated using the relationship recently adopted by ICES for blue whiting (Micromesistius poutassou) of TS = 20 log10TL – 65.2 (where TL is total length) obtained from in situ measurements, but higher values than those estimated from the previous relationship for southern blue whiting of TS = 38 log10FL – 97, which was based on swimbladder modelling.


2016 ◽  
Vol 73 (8) ◽  
pp. 1975-1986 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary D. Melvin

Abstract Field studies to investigate the survey capability of a 500-kHz multibeam sonar to monitor and quantify Atlantic bluefin tuna were undertaken at several fishing locations (commercial and recreational) off Prince Edward Island and at a grow-out pen in Nova Scotia. The results demonstrate that individual bluefin can be detected, enumerated, and tracked acoustically within the swathe of the sonar. Bluefin were observed individually, and in groups ranging from 2 to 16 fish. Schooling tuna, assumed to be foraging, were observed moving in a soldier formation. Estimates of in situ swimming speeds (0.5–11.0 m s−1) were made by tracking individual fish within the swathe. The mean interspatial distance between fish when swimming in a group of two or more tuna was estimated to be 8.94 m with a range of 2.68–22.63 m. Groups of up to 48 bluefin were observed aggregating around active herring gillnet vessels. Dorsal aspect target strength estimates of bluefin, obtained from an accompanying 120-kHz echosounder (Simrad EK60), ranged from −33 to −14 dB for fish from 220 to 313 cm (size estimated from commercial catches). Sonar detection ranges were dependent upon sea state and water depth. In rough seas, the surface layer became too turbulent, and air bubble attenuation too high, to consistently separate reverberation from fish-like targets. In shallow water (20–30 m), a range setting of >50 m could not be utilized due to seabed reflections. In water depths >50–60 m, a tilt angle of 7.5o below the horizontal allowed the sonar's range of up to 150 m to be utilized with minimal reverberation from the surface and seabed. The results indicate there is potential for using a 500-kHz multibeam sonar in fishery-independent surveys to monitor and to quantify bluefin in shallow water (<100 m).


2021 ◽  
Vol 72 (3) ◽  
pp. 449
Author(s):  
Julie Salvetat ◽  
Anne Lebourges-Dhaussy ◽  
Paulo Travassos ◽  
Sven Gastauer ◽  
Gildas Roudaut ◽  
...  

Triggerfish are widely distributed in tropical waters where they play an important ecological role. The black triggerfish Melichthys niger may be the dominant species around oceanic tropical islands, whereas pelagic triggerfish, such as the ocean triggerfish Canthidermis sufflamen, can assemble around fish aggregating devices (FADs) where they are a common bycatch of tuna fisheries. In this study we combined acoustic and optical recordings to provide the first in situ target strength (TS) measurement of black and ocean triggerfish. Data were collected in the Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha off north-east Brazil. The mean TS of a 27.8-cm-long black triggerfish at 70 and 200kHz was –39.3dB re 1m2 (CV=14.0%) and –38.9dB re 1m2 (CV=14.4%) respectively. The mean TS values of ocean triggerfish (with a size range of 39–44cm) at 70 and 200kHz were –36.0dB re 1m2 (CV=15.7%) and –33.3dB re 1m2 (CV=14.0%) respectively. This work opens up the field for acoustic biomass estimates. In addition, we have shown that TS values for ocean triggerfish are within the same range as those of small tunas. Therefore, acoustic data transmitted from FADs equipped with echosounders can introduce a bias in tuna acoustic biomass estimation and lead to increased rates of bycatch.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (9) ◽  
pp. 1851 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angga Dwinovantyo ◽  
Henry M. Manik ◽  
Tri Prartono ◽  
Susilohadi Susilohadi ◽  
Tohru Mukai

Zooplankton can be detected by using acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) instruments through acquiring the mean volume backscattering strength (MVBS) data. However, the precision of the backscattered signal measured by single ADCP measurement has a limitation in the MVBS variation of zooplankton. The objectives of this study were to analyze the MVBS and vertical velocity from ADCPs at the same time and location for zooplankton’s daily vertical migration (DVM) observation. Measurements were conducted in Lembeh Strait, North Sulawesi, Indonesia. Instruments used included a moored ADCP 750 kHz and a mobile ADCP 307.2 kHz. High MVBS value was found at 11.5–16 m depths and was identified as the sound scattering layer (SSL). The DVM patterns in the SSL displayed significant differences over time and had good relationships with the diurnal cycle. Theoretical target strength (TS) from the scattering models based on a distorted-wave Born approximation (DWBA) was estimated for Oithona sp. and Paracalanus sp.; the two dominant species found in the observed area. However, ΔMVBS and ΔTS proved that the dominant zooplankton species were not the main scatterers. The strong signal in SSL was instead caused by the schools of various zooplankton species.


2012 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-222 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gavin J. Macaulay ◽  
Rudy J. Kloser ◽  
Tim E. Ryan

Abstract Macaulay, G. J., Kloser, R. J., and Ryan, T. E. 2013. In situ target strength estimates of visually verified orange roughy. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 70:215–222. The first estimates of orange roughy (Hoplostethus atlanticus) target strength at 38 and 120 kHz with visual verification were obtained from a self-contained echosounder and video camera system affixed to a demersal trawl towed through dense aggregations of spawning orange roughy. Mean target strength estimates were obtained from 24 tracks of orange roughy containing 83 echoes. The mean target strength at 38 kHz was –52.0 dB with a 95% confidence interval of –53.3 to –50.9 dB for fish with a mean length of 33.9 cm. At 120 kHz the mean target strength was –47.9 dB (confidence interval of –48.8 to –46.4 dB). This work makes two significant advances: in situ TS measurements have been made that can be confidently attributed to orange roughy, and using a trawl to herd orange roughy past the system resolved the previously intractable problem of fish avoidance.


2020 ◽  
Vol 71 (9) ◽  
pp. 1118
Author(s):  
Julie Salvetat ◽  
Anne Lebourges-Dhaussy ◽  
Paulo Travassos ◽  
Sven Gastauer ◽  
Gildas Roudaut ◽  
...  

Triggerfish are widely distributed in tropical waters where they play an important ecological role. The black triggerfish Melichthys niger may be the dominant species around oceanic tropical islands, whereas pelagic triggerfish, such as the ocean triggerfish Canthidermis sufflamen, can assemble around fish aggregating devices (FADs) where they are a common bycatch of tuna fisheries. In this study we combined acoustic and optical recordings to provide the first in situ target strength (TS) measurement of black and ocean triggerfish. Data were collected in the Archipelago of Fernando de Noronha off north-east Brazil. The mean TS of a 27.8-cm-long black triggerfish at 70 and 200kHz was –39.3dB re 1m2 (CV=14.0%) and –38.9dB re 1m2 (CV=14.4%) respectively. The mean TS values of ocean triggerfish (with a size range of 39–44cm) at 70 and 200kHz were –36.0dB re 1m2 (CV=15.7%) and –33.3dB re 1m2 (CV=14.0%) respectively. This work opens up the field for acoustic biomass estimates. In addition, we have shown that TS values for ocean triggerfish are within the same range as those of small tunas. Therefore, acoustic data transmitted from FADs equipped with echosounders can introduce a bias in tuna acoustic biomass estimation and lead to increased rates of bycatch.


2003 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 548-554 ◽  
Author(s):  
Natalia Gorska ◽  
Egil Ona

Abstract Obtaining accurate data on fish target strength (TS) is important when determining the quality of the results from acoustic surveys. However, this requires an improved understanding of both behavioural and environmental influences on the acoustic backscattering by fish. It is well known that the increased pressure with depth compresses the swimbladder of herring, and it has been confirmed by in situ measurements that the TS of adult herring (30–34 cm) is 3–5 dB weaker at 300 m than that of fish close to the surface. Understanding exactly how swimbladder compression may influence herring TS is, therefore, of great interest, and is the main motivation behind this study. Taking account of swimbladder volume changes with depth, we obtained analytical solutions using the Modal-Based, Deformed-Cylinder Model (MB-DCM). The mean-backscattering cross-section is then computed with selected orientation patterns, length distributions, and contrast parameters. The depth-dependence of TS at different acoustic frequencies has been studied. We conducted a sensitivity analysis to show how TS is dependent on the contraction rates of the bladder dimensions and on the fish-orientation distribution. Our theoretical results are compared with TS measured at 38 kHz.


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