The application of multibeam sonar technology for quantitative estimates of fish density in shallow water acoustic surveys

The paper describes the main drawbacks in the application of conventional acoustics in shallow waters, and reviews the advantages and limitations that existing multibeam sonar present in these ecosystems. New techniques and methods for adapting multibeam sonar to shallow waters are proposed and discussed. A method for analysing acoustic data from shallow waters through image analysis process is presented and some examples are considered. The results show that scattered fish can be observed individually and counted, and that schools are described in their morphology and behaviour. From these results an ‘ideal’ acoustic device is defined: a sonar operating at more than 400 kHz with a coverage of at least 120° in one direction and, depending on the needs of the user, 15° or 1° (which can be modified easily) in the perpendicular plane. The beam opening–angle is 0.5° in the centre beam, increasing to 1.0° at the 60° steer–angle, giving a total of 240 beams. Multibeam sonar data could be used for several purposes in shallow waters, in particular to estimate fish density and biomass, and study spatial and temporal behaviour of fish.     

Density and in situ target strength of herring and sprat: a comparison between two methods of analyzing single-beam sonar data

We analyzed sonar data obtained with a 70-kHz single-beam echosounder with two methods for removing the beam pattern effect: one based on the Craig and Forbes logarithm; the other based on a z-transformation and deconvolution operation. The sonar data were collected from 4 July to 23 October 1985, in a coastal area of the northern Baltic proper where herring (Clupea harengus L.) and sprat (Sprattus sprattus L.) dominated the pelagic fish populations. The two methods gave similar total fish densities, but the proportion of different size classes sometimes differed by up to 30 percentage units.The acoustic data are compared with size distributions and catch per unit effort in simultaneously collected vertical gill-net samples. Size distributions in nets and acoustics were fairly similar, but the relationship between catch per unit effort in gill nets and acoustic density estimates was poor. Target strength to fish-length regressions from the two acoustic methods were similar even though individual estimates differed by up to 4 dB on some sampling occasions. When the slope of the regression is set to 20 we obtained the equation TS=20 log L-69.9 with both methods (TS is target strength in dB and L is fish length in cm).     

Spawning of herring: day or night,today or tomorrow?

Diel variations in schooling patterns and spatial dynamics during spawning were studied in Norwegian spring-spawning herring (Clupea harengus) off south-western Norway by acoustic surveying, diel cycle experiments and school tracking by sonar, and bottom gillnet sampling. Herring formed horizontally extensive, loosely packed demersal layers shortly after darkness. At night, the fish disappeared in the acoustic dead zone, but lifted off the bottom early in the following mornings. At daytime the herring reorganised into dense pelagic schools. The evening descent to the spawning habitat was considered as part of a precautionary strategy towards visual predators, as the bottom is a high-risk zone for archetypal pelagic fish like herring. Large numbers of gadoids, which are potential herring predators, were present in the area. Herring not ready to spawn dominated the bottom samples in 4 out of 5 days, suggesting that pre-spawning herring followed the descent of ripe herring. The herring spawning layers shifted in a south-easterly direction from day to day in diel spawning waves.     

First results on migrating shad (Alosa fallax) and mullet (Mugil cephalus) echocounting in a lock on the Rhône River (France) using a split-beam sounder,and relationships with environmental data and fish caught

The application of fisheries acoustics in shallow waters opens new fields of observation and allows new methods for abundance estimates. In this paper we deal with echocounting of migrating fish crossing the Beaucaire-Vallabrègues lock, the first obstacle encountered on the Rhône, using a SIMRAD EY500 split-beam sounder, 70 kHz frequency. Two transducers sampled a section of water and evaluated approximately 35% of the lock section, based on a calibration sphere. The number of fish crossing the lock was calculated for each fish lock. Crossing data for the fish were recorded (dates, position, exit time). The present analysis did not allow the identification of the two major species that cross the dam: shad (Alosa fallax) and mullet (Mugil cephalus). The number of fish counted was positively correlated with the catches per unit effort (CPUE) by recreating fishermen below the dam and with increasing water temperature.     

Integration of sonar and optical camera images using deep neural network for fish monitoring

Fish monitoring in aquaculture farms is indispensable for managing the growth and health status of fish resources. However, it is unrealistic to expect humans to be able to perform monitoring at night, when standard optical cameras are generally inapplicable. Although sonar systems can be used at night, their practical applications are limited by their monochrome, low-quality images. In this paper, we describe a realistic image generation system that uses sonar and camera images recorded at night. The proposed approach is based on conditional generative adversarial networks, which learn the image-to-image translation between sonar and optical images. We tested the system in a fish tank containing thousands of sardines (Sardinops melanostictus). Images were simultaneously recorded using high-precision imaging sonar and an underwater camera. Experimental results show that the proposed model successfully generates realistic daytime images from sonar and night camera images. Our system enables nighttime monitoring using sonar and an optical camera, leading to more efficient fish farming and environmental surveillance.     

Upstream recolonization by freshwater mussels (Unionoida: Hyriidae) following installation of a fishway

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Association between longline design and mussel productivity in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The first objective of this study was to document the design of subsurface longlines used for the farming of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) in Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada; the second objective was to identify possible associations between longline design and mussel growth. In 2003, SCUBA divers visited 54 farms distributed in 16 culture embayments; they measured the spacing between longlines and the spacing between individual socks (sleeves) attached to longlines; they also sampled one-year-old mussels for the determination of the shell length, condition index, and sock weight. Here we report a remarkable degree of variation in longline configuration, with the following range of values: 1.2 to 3.0 m for sock length, 1.5 to 29.5 m for longline spacing, 26.4 to 62.4 cm for sock spacing, and 6.2 to 179.9 socks/100 m² for stocking density at the farm scale. A negative correlation was found between stocking density at the farm scale and total farming area at the bay scale, suggesting that growers adjusted husbandry in relation to the surrounding level of farming activity. In one major culture bay, Tracadie Bay, measurements were repeated over a three-year period (2002-2004). This monitoring led to the discovery of a coordinated effort by growers in raising the average sock spacing by 30% (+ 11 cm). Multiple regression analyses identified sock spacing as the only explanatory variable correlated with mussel weight in Tracadie Bay. The model suggests that an 11-cm increase in sock spacing can lead to an 18% weight gain for pre-market mussels (∼ 34 mm), the size group investigated in the study. However, this correlation between sock spacing and sock weight was tenuous over the three-year study period, showing up only in 2002. A similar correlation was found between sock spacing and condition index, although only in 2004. We conclude by suggesting that close spacing of mussel socks can negatively affect mussel yield, although only under certain conditions.     

基于成像声呐的鱼类三维空间分布

针对海洋牧场中鱼群的三维空间分布问题,本研究提出一种利用成像声呐进行位置计算的方法。将成像声呐固定在船舷外侧的水下,并保证波束发射方向和声呐移动方向一致,通过走航的方式采集水下鱼群信息。首先对采集的原始数据进行图像处理,包括图像构建、背景去除、目标提取等,然后利用基于交互式多模型联合概率数据关联算法对水下目标进行关联处理,得到同一个目标在声呐水平视场中不同帧图像中的对应关系,在此基础上根据连续两帧图像中目标位置关系计算目标的空间坐标,最后结合关联算法获得多目标在三维空间中的运动轨迹以及深度分布情况。研究表明,本方法可以有效获取鱼群在水下的三维运动轨迹及其分布情况,这将为鱼类行为分析以及海洋牧场的资源评估提供技术支持。     

Acoustic approaches to remote species identification: a review

Noninvasive species identification remains a long-term goal of fishers, researchers, and resource managers who use sound to locate, map, and count aquatic organisms. Since the first biological applications of underwater acoustics, four approaches have been used singly or in combination to survey marine and freshwater environments: passive sonar; prior knowledge and direct sampling; echo statistics from high-frequency measures; and matching models to low-frequency measures. Echo amplitudes or targets measured using any sonar equipment are variable signals. Variability in reflected sound is influenced by physical factors associated with the transmission of sound through a compressible fluid, and by biological factors associated with the location, reflective properties, and behaviour of a target. The current trend in acoustic target identification is to increase the amount of information collected through increases in frequency bandwidth or in the number of acoustic beams. Exclusive use of acoustics to identify aquatic organisms reliably will require a set of statistical metrics that discriminate among a wide range of similar body types at any packing density, and incorporation of these algorithms in routine data processing.     

Averting co-extinction: Successful mussel translocation rescues an endangered population of the European bitterling,Rhodeus amarus

1. Local extinctions break species interactions and have cascading effects throughout ecosystems; parasites are often severely affected. The European bitterling, Rhodeus amarus, is a cyprinid fish that parasitizes unionid mussels by laying eggs into the mussel gill cavity, where embryos develop and emerge as active juveniles; this relationship is obligatory for the bitterling.
2. This article describes a field experiment aimed at averting the secondary extinction of the European bitterling after a complete die-off of a freshwater mussel community, as a result of habitat destruction.
3. Approximately 5,000 unionid mussels were reintroduced within the short time frame in which the remnant bitterling population was still present at the site. Mussel survival was high, and bitterling resumed reproduction, with vigorous courtship observed within 24 hours of mussel release. Recruitment was successful, as evidenced by increased occupancy, densities, and relative frequencies in the fish assemblage. The frequency of sub-adults and young-of-the-year changed from 0% before mussel reintroduction to 80% a year later, and 50% 2 years later, when young-of-the-year contributed to about half of the young fish. No bitterling were observed at two control sites where mussels were not reintroduced.
4. This study exemplifies how the timely restitution of affiliate species can avert co-extinction. It also shows how the conservation of the bitterling within its historical distribution range can serve mussel conservation, including species that although not legally protected, are important keystone species and ecosystem engineers, shaping the structure and function of a broad range of freshwater habitats.

     

Assessing the biomass of small fish with a split-beam sonar in the Murray River,Australia

Split-beam hydroacoustics revealed large numbers of small fish in the lower reaches of the Murray River in autumn. At slow-flow sites, acoustically estimated fish biomass could reach 102 kg/ha in mid channel, which compares with the biomass level of planktivorous fish in eutrophic lakes. These results were confirmed by direct catches with a push net of Australian smelt (Retropinna semoni) and juvenile bony herring (Nematalosa erebi) ranging in length from 18 to 150 mm. Fish densities in the river channel doubled at night compared to the day. The density and total biomass estimates from net catches were strongly correlated with the acoustic data. However, the catch estimates were only 50–60% of the acoustic measurements, which is explained by the limited netting efficiency. The two methods produced similar estimates of fish mean weights. These results suggest that the density and biomass of small fish in open water habitats of the river can be reliably determined with acoustics. The high biomass of planktivorous fish and the diverse zooplankton community found in the same habitat suggest that the fish probably exploit an advantageous ecological niche in the main channel of the Lower Murray. The high biomass of small fish in this reach of the river, which has previously been underestimated, provides a large potential food source for native predators.     

Spatial distribution and temporal changes in the fish populations of Lake Victoria

The fisheries of Lake Victoria in East Africa must be managed effectively to ensure sustainable food supplies. This has been impossible in the past due to inadequate knowledge of commercially important fish stocks. Here we present the first acoustic abundance estimates of fish in Lake Victoria. Five lakewide acoustic surveys were conducted between 1999 and 2001, using the Simrad EY500 echo-integrator with a 120 kHz split-beam transducer. There are many species of fish in Lake Victoria, however, only limited identification of targets can be achieved by present methods. Broad categories were distinguished by visual examination of echo-traces. The echo-integrals were partitioned between four target groups: (1) the Nile perch (Lates niloticus), a top predator, (2) small pelagics comprising mainly the dagaa Rastrineobola argentea together with mixed species of haplochromines, (3) the crustacean Caridina nilotica and (4) other species. Spatial and temporal differences in the Standing Crop were observed between north and south, and between shallow and deep water. Most fish were found inshore but the spatial distribution varied between seasons. Mid-lake fish densities were higher in August compared to February. In August, the water column is well mixed while in February it is stratified with a low-oxygen layer inhospitable to fish near the bottom. There are consequent changes in the characteristics of observed echo-traces. Over the survey series, Nile perch biomass showed a consistent decline, while the stocks of small pelagic species increased. We emphasize the need for simple rules to identify species, and hydrographic monitoring to assist echo-trace classification. In the absence of any other source of comprehensive biomass estimates, the value of acoustic surveying in Lake Victoria is demonstrated.     

National Park stewardship and ‘vital signs’ monitoring: a case study from Channel Islands National Park,California

• 1. Place‐based conservation strategies require that stewards know and understand the targeted ecosystems, restore impaired resources, protect the ecosystems, and connect people wholeheartedly to the places. Knowledge of ecosystem structure and functioning is the cornerstone of stewardship.
• 2. This paper describes the design, implementation, and application of an ecological monitoring programme in Channel Islands National Park, California, USA. Experience from this programme showed that monitoring ecological ‘vital signs’ was a quick, sure, and inexpensive way to discover and track ecosystem dynamics.
• 3. Monitoring ecological ‘vital signs’ determined status and trends of ecosystem integrity and established limits of normal variation of key ecosystem features. It also provided early warnings of situations that required intervention and helped frame research questions to determine chains of cause and consequence.
• 4. The strong influence and probabilistic nature of biological interactions in ecosystems precluded effective use of deterministic modelling to predict ecosystem behaviour accurately. Therefore, ongoing monitoring was required to increase knowledge of system dynamics reliably. The US National Park Service has begun to identify and monitor the ecological ‘vital signs’ in 32 networks of 270 parks.

Published in 2004 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of a stimulus-response method for distinguishing out-migrant salmonids from drifting debris for sonar counts in the Trinity River,California

A method for discriminating fish from debris in sonar counts of out-migrant salmonids was tested in the Trinity River, California. The method used induced fish movements to distinguish fish from drifting debris. Electricity and light served as stimuli and video and split-beam sonar were used to measure movements of fish (mainly juvenile chinook salmon) and debris (mainly tree leaves). Differences in fish and debris behavior were clearly observable with underwater video. Many fish darted or slowed and most fish dove, whereas debris drifted passively. Fish responded to the electric field inconsistently, and an apparent positive phototaxis was the most consistent response to stimuli. Lack of matched sonar and video observations of individual targets prevented direct testing of sonar’s ability to differentiate fish and debris in the Trinity River. However, analysis of sonar data from a similar situation in the Seton River, British Columbia, indicate that fish responses measured in the Trinity River by video were within the resolution of split-beam sonar. Split-beam position measurement error averaged ≤ 0.06 m within 5° of the acoustic axis, compared to a mean diving reaction of 0.11 m by salmonids observed with video. Proper transducer deployment, improved sonar analysis methods, and perfection of stimuli to elicit obvious and consistent fish responses are key to the success of this technique. With suitable development and validation, the stimulus-response method could become a useful tool for apportioning sonar counts among fish and debris.     

罗非鱼声控投饵方法

鱼类的摄食活力可以用摄食过程发出的声音直接测量。本研究通过构建声学监测平台,应用带宽1 Hz-470 kHz,在40 kHz以下自由场电压灵敏度级-217 dB(基准值为1 V/μPa)的水声检测设备,采集罗非鱼摄食过程中产生的声信号,分析其摄食活力。研究表明,罗非鱼摄食时发出的声音在0-6 kHz可区分于背景噪声,其声功率与摄食活力呈正相关。声功率移动平均值反应鱼摄食活力趋势,可作为食欲反馈,结合生长模型和投喂模型可以组成投饵策略。     

Biofouling on Greenshell? mussel (Perna canaliculus) farms: a preliminary assessment and potential implications for sustainable aquaculture practices

Greenshell? mussel (Perna canaliculus) culture is the primary aquaculture industry in New Zealand. However, our knowledge of biofouling on Greenshell? mussel farms, and its contribution to farm ecotrophic effects, is poor. We conducted a preliminary study of biofouling accumulation at two Greenshell? mussel farms during Intermediate and Final seed on-growing stages (each of 6?months duration) with sampling of mussel ropes at 0, 3, 5 and 6?months during each on-growing stage. A diverse range of biofouling organisms (71 distinct taxa) accumulated on mussel ropes, with biofouling biomass dominated by suspension-feeding organisms (~88% of biofouling biomass) such as other bivalves, ascidians and, to a lesser degree, bryozoans. Biofouling biomass increased with culture time, varied between farms and was generally greater at 2?m than at 8?m depth. After 6?months, biofouling organisms on average comprised 54% of the total rope biomass. The reseeding of ropes between Intermediate and Final seed crops reduced the amount of non-Greenshell? mussel biofouling. However, after 6?months, non-Greenshell? mussel biofouling on average still comprised 15% of the total rope biomass. To evaluate potential ecotrophic effects of biofouling on Greenshell? mussel farms, we compare the clearance rates of Greenshell? mussel longlines based on Greenshell? mussels alone and when combined with the two dominant biofouling species observed in our study (the mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis and the ascidian Ciona intestinalis). Our study shows that accumulated biofouling biomass on Greenshell? mussel ropes can be significant and recommends further investigation as to actual ecotrophic effects of biofouling to ensure sustainable mussel farm practices.