Quantifying fish avoidance of small acoustic survey vessels in boreal lakes and reservoirs

Mobile hydroacoustic surveys are increasingly used to assess the distribution and abundance of freshwater fish; yet, fish may avoid moving vessels, potentially introducing bias in these assessments. In this study, avoidance in boreal lakes and reservoirs was quantified by developing a simple method based on paired drift:drift (D:D) and drift:motor (D:M) transects. Two systems in eastern Manitoba, Canada were studied: Lac du Bonnet reservoir and Nopiming. Acoustic data were collected using a digital DTX echosounder (BioSonics, Seattle, WA, USA), with a downward facing 200‐kHz split‐beam transducer, deployed from 5.5‐m vessels (Boston Whalers) modified for acoustic research. An avoidance coefficient (Ac) was developed based on comparisons of acoustic fish densities while the vessel moved over the same transects by drifting, and by motoring at survey speeds. Ac did not differ significantly from 1 (no avoidance) at Nopiming (median of 0.81, n = 13), but did at Lac du Bonnet (median of 0.51, n = 31, P < 0.05). Variability in Ac was as high in transect pairs and was unrelated to fish depth (mean 6.9 m at Lac du Bonnet; 13.1 m at Nopiming) or survey speed (up to 3.70 m·s^?1, 7 knots). Results indicated that fishes did not dive in the presence of the motoring vessel, nor was avoidance size‐based. We did not detect any evidence of fish attraction to our drifting vessel. Our results suggest that boat avoidance during acoustic surveys of shallow boreal lakes may vary in relatively similar water bodies but can be quantified experimentally.     

Effect of towing speed and net mouth size on catch efficiency in framed midwater trawls

ABSTRACT:   To investigate fish density using rigid-mouth, towed net gear, such as a framed midwater trawl (FMT), it is necessary to know the catch efficiency. The catch efficiency with an FMT is described as the rate of fish entering the net (entering rate) versus the rate of fish retention, i.e. the mesh selectivity. This study investigated the change in the catch efficiency under several towing conditions using three types of FMT of different net mouth areas (4.0, 12.3, and 16.0 m²) with the same mesh size. The catch efficiency of the FMT was evaluated by comparing catch per unit effort obtained from each towing condition. The catch efficiency of FMT varied with towing speed and net mouth area. Particularly, the effect of net mouth area on the catch efficiency was greater than that of towing speed. Additionally, under the same towing condition, the catch efficiency for large length fish was lower than that for small length fish.     

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。     

Hydroacoustic assessment of pelagic stages of freshwater insects

Two independent surveys showed that aquatic insects can generate echoes comparable with the echoes of small fish. In the open water of two fishless mountain acidic waters of the Czech Republic, a very distinct population of well-defined single targets resembling fish (target strength –66 to –50 dB at 120 kHz) was discovered. These targets were found in the depth range of 5–7 m during the day (June–July 1997). At night, most targets were recorded by horizontal beaming (depth < 3 m). Towing of ichthyoplankton nets in these horizons revealed the presence of ‘water bugs’, Corixidae (Hemiptera), mostly genus Glaenocorisa. Target strengths of corixids was also verified by direct observations in an experimental tank, where it was possible to track side, dorsal and ventral aspects. In three Dutch reservoirs, Petrusplaat, Honderd-en-Dertig and De Gijster (area 100–300 ha, maximum depth 15–28 m, with fish presence) the targets of ascending dipteran pupae (Chironomidae, Procladius signatus) with target strength of –74 to –65 dB were observed by vertical beaming. The presence of pupae was verified by horizontally towed ichthyoplankton nets and by vertical plankton hauls inside the echosounder beam. The contribution of aquatic insects to the fish biomass was small but they can interfere in juvenile fish assessment.     

Detection of migratory herring in a shallow channel using 12- and 100-kHz sidescan sonars

A hydroacoustic monitoring program for migratory herring was conducted in Drogden Channel, near Copenhagen, Denmark, beginning in June, 1996. Using installations of 100-kHz sidescan sonar oriented across the channel, herring schools were observed at ranges up to 500 m in water depths of 10–14 m. In October 1997, this effort was supplemented with a 12-kHz sidescan mounted on a motorized tripod allowing azimuthal sector scanning. This 12-kHz sidescan was able to detect herring schools up to a 1 200-m range. Two examples are examined to assess the limits of herring school detectability and the feasibility of abundance estimation. In both cases, herring schools are detectable by their transience and up to 20 dB signal excess relative to the nominally stationary background reverberation, dominated by seabed backscattering. Attempts are made to extract quantitative abundance estimates using methods based on school size and density, and through quantitative echo-integration. Acoustic ray tracing was found to be useful in interpreting the results, and in particular modeling boundary-reflection focusing as a potential source of positive bias in herring abundance estimates.     

New applications of hydroacoustic methods for monitoring shallow water aquatic ecosystems: the case of mussel culture grounds

The development of acoustics tools and methods for monitoring anthropized ecosystems represents a new field for the application of acoustics. Monitoring such an environment was not possible with single vertical echo sounders, due to the fact that the artificial structures and the natural targets were not distinguishable. Monitoring data were collected along the French Mediterranean coastline, during five short surveys of mussel culture longline areas. Both the Reson Seabat 6012 multibeam sonar (455 kHz) and the Simrad SR 240 omnidirectional sonar (23.75 kHz) were used for target detection. The former tools allow accurate allocation of the different types of echoes to artefacts, fish schools and scattered fish. The school characteristics collected included morphological, geographical (GPS, school location), and behavioural (connections with the longlines). An acoustic survey undertaken with the same hardware near the study area allowed the comparison of fish schools and the TS distribution of individual fish in the open sea and in the mussel area. These data permitted us to evaluate the ecological impact of a mussel culture on the ecosystem, in a context of predation behaviour of fish on these longlines. Finally, the acoustic data revealed the configuration of each concession and the level of charge of each line. We discuss the applicability of this technology for in situ real time monitoring for joint management of such ecosystems. The information can allow littoral cooperative management or incorporating it into an ecosystem approach.     

Optomotor response and erratic response: quantitative analysis of fish reaction to towed fishing gears

Fish were observed reacting to moving net panels in tank experiments and in trawl gears towed at sea. Two typical response behaviours of haddock, saithe, mackerel, cod and flatfish to the gear are described as optomotor response and erratic response. These two responses were analysed from TV recordings of the reacting fish and are characterised by time sequences of four parameters: swimming speed, acceleration, angular velocity and distance to the net panel. When fish display stable swimming near the net mouth as in an optomotor response, variations of swimming speed, acceleration and angular velocity are relatively low and regular in their amplitude and period. The erratic response is characterised by large variations in velocity, acceleration and angular velocity and only distance to the towed netting panel, which is positive inside and negative outside, shows progressive change. It is suggested that the fish’s process of deciding between optomotor or erratic response to the gear is based on predictable parameters that describe the stimulus like sound, light level, visibility range and object contrast, combined with the limits describing the abilities of the fish to see, hear and move. The behaviour of the observed parameters suggest that the balance between these factors in a model predicting the outcome might benefit from a form of chaos theory.     

Preliminary results of fish population distribution in a Senegalese coastal area with depths less than 15m,using acoustic methods

In order to manage the fish stock of the Senegal coastal zone it is necessary to carry out direct assessment surveys by acoustic methods. Acoustic surveys were carried out in this region from a sports-fishing boat, using a split-beam echo sounder in vertical mode, in areas with depth less than 15 m. On a short time scale, spatial structure of the fish population remained stable. The average acoustic biomass detected was variable, but we observed a relative stability of target strength distribution of single fish. The use of acoustic methods in these areas of shallow depths, the consequences of escape behaviour of the fish, and sampling strategies are discussed.     

Dispersal of large farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, from simulated escapes at fish farms in Norway and Scotland

Abstract  Individually tagged farmed Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L., were released from fish farms in simulated escapes in Scotland ( n  =   678) and Norway ( n  =   597) to compare migratory behaviour and dispersal. Large fish (510–870 mm fork length) were released to simulate the escape of aquaculture growers. Fish were released in spring and all recaptures of tagged fish were reported during summer and autumn of the year of release. Recapture rates were respectively 7.0 and 0.6% of the salmon released in Norway and Scotland, indicating a higher mortality or a lower exploitation or reporting rate for Scottish fish. Recaptures of Norwegian fish were all from Norway and mostly within 150 km of the release site; 64% were taken by anglers in fresh water. By contrast, the three salmon recaptured from the release in Scotland were reported from Norway (Hardangerfjord and Lofoten) and western Sweden (River Göta); two detached tags were found on beaches in Scotland north of the release site. These findings establish the capacity for long distance dispersal among escapees from aquaculture facilities and suggest a net easterly bias in long distance dispersal of salmon escaping from Scottish fish farms.     

Hydroacoustic target strength validation using angling creel census data

Validation of hydroacoustic in-situ target strength is problematic in large, deep lowland rivers, which cannot be sampled easily by conventional methods such as netting or electric fishing. A sampling programme involving three different techniques (split beam sonar, angling census and post-angling competition data collection) was conducted to examine methodologies suitable for target strength validation. This combination of techniques also assessed the relative merits of each method for best describing fish populations and the stocks exploited in a recreational coarse fishery. The sonar estimated the greatest number of fish of the three techniques, with a strong positive size correlation with the other two methods. The angling census and post-competition census accounted for more larger fish, >26 cm, than were detected acoustically, indicating a stratification of species that were exploited by angling but not detected by horizontal sonar. The combined techniques demonstrated a suitable, cost-effective, hydroacoustic validation method for large UK rivers, which supports recreational coarse fisheries management, with the added advantage of species identification.     

Improvement in school-size estimates of pelagic fish using information from sector-scanning sonar

School‐size estimates based on information from a sector‐scanning sonar were compared with those based on information from an echo sounder. Three pairs of size estimates of anchovy schools in the coastal waters, off Fukuoka Prefecture were shown as examples. They included the possibility of improving the size estimates by using information from sector‐scanning sonar to consider the size in the transverse direction. In these examples, the thickness and extent of the school varied in the transverse direction. A large difference was found between the estimates from the sounder information and those from the sector‐scanning sonar information, although whether or not the estimated size decreased differed according to each case. Also, whether the thickness information or the extent information is influential differed according to each case. The size information from the sector‐scanning sonar in the transverse direction caused a change in the estimated size from 66 to 16 (×10³ m³, mainly by different extent), 305 to 146 (×10³ m³, thickness increased but extent decreased), and 819 to 746 (×10³ m³, three seemingly separated schools fused into one).     

Summer habitat use of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in a small Arctic lake, monitored by acoustic telemetry

Abstract –  Acoustic technologies were applied to describe how landlocked Arctic char from Iqalugaajuruluit Lake, Baffin Island, interact with its lacustrine habitat. Acoustic data from the lake bottom was collected using sonar equipment and substrate types were verified with benthic grabs and mapped in a geographic information system. Arctic char movements during the open water period were recorded from char fitted with acoustic tags. The distribution of the tagged Arctic char in Iqalugaajuruluit Lake was dependent on fish size and related to abiotic factors such as depth, substrate type and depth/temperature, temporally. The volume of water with temperatures below 6 °C during the open water period may be a limiting factor for large char (>400 mm) in small Arctic lakes. The large piscivorous char are found most often in the deepest water over soft substrates and the smaller char which feed on varying proportions of invertebrates and fish were found most often over the more complex substrates such as boulders, pebbles and gravel.     

A continuous, underway fish egg sampler

We describe a method to sample the highly contagious distribution of pelagic fish eggs. CUFES, the continuous, underway fish egg sampler, consists of a submersible pump, concentrator, electronics and sample collector. This system operates continuously and under nearly all sea conditions, providing a real-time estimate of the volumetric abundance of pelagic fish eggs at pump depth, usually 3 m. CUFES-derived estimates of volumetric abundance agree well with those from nets towed at pump depth and with areal abundance estimated from vertically integrated plankton tows. CUFES has been used successfully to sample the eggs of menhaden, pinfish, sardine, and anchovy off the coasts of the eastern and western United States and South Africa. Two large patches of eggs of the Atlantic menhaden were sampled off North Carolina in winter 1993–94, had a linear scale of 5–10 km, and were found in waters between the Gulf Stream and mid-shelf front. Spawning location may be related to bathymetry. CUFES is now being used to estimate spawner biomass by the daily egg production method. An optical plankton counter provided accurate estimates of the number of Atlantic menhaden eggs sample by CUFES.     

闽东渔场张网禁渔区研究

本文首先收集了张网渔船在闽东渔场生产的海区、渔船数量、渔船功率和产量。然后检测了在不同深度海区捕捞的渔获组成并分析和比较其结果,最后提出了如何管理闽东渔场张网的一些建议。张网是一种严重损害经济鱼类幼鱼的渔具,其生产渔场不应扩大;40米等深线外海域的渔获个体较大,表明张网在40米等深线外海域损害幼鱼的程度比40米等深线内海区小,可以把“40米等深线以外海域为张网作业的禁渔区”的规定改为“在拖网禁渔区线以外海域为张网作业的禁渔区”。     

Individual variability of diel vertical migrations in European vendace (Coregonus albula) explored by stationary vertical hydroacoustics

Abstract –  Diel vertical migration (DVM) is a widespread behavioural pattern in populations of aquatic animals. Its adaptive value is explained by a trade-off between the protection against visually feeding predators in the dark hypolimnion during daytime, and a higher food uptake in the upper food-rich layers during the night. Whereas vertical migration patterns of entire populations have been frequently described, less is known with respect to individual variability of DVM within fish populations. Here, individual migration patterns of European vendace ( Coregonus albula ) are described, obtained by stationary vertical hydroacoustics in Lake Stechlin (Germany) during the dusk and dawn phases of 2 months in 2004. The variability of speeds of depth change was high, with only a few fish rising or falling faster than 1 cm s⁻¹. Swimming activity was not dependent on fish size. There was some evidence that variability of echo strengths was highest in those fish which showed the greatest three-dimensional swimming distances which might indicate a limited swimbladder compensation during vertical migrations. However, migration seems to be performed mainly in a saltatory mode with vertical swimming always interrupted by phases of constant depth. It is suggested that these phases are used for pressure compensation by fish with the consequence that overall the frequency distribution of target strengths deviates only slightly between the start and the end of the recordings. Stationary hydroacoustics proved to be a useful tool for studying individual fish swimming behaviour.     

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.     

Measurement of the rate of depletion of benthic fauna by prawn (shrimp) otter trawls: an experiment in the Great Barrier Reef, Australia

We carried out a trawl-depletion experiment for benthic fauna in an area closed to commercial trawling. A 12-fathom prawn (shrimp) trawl net having a swept path of about 18 m was towed 13 times along each of six tracks. Each track was 2.7 km long and known from previous surveys to contain several relatively dense patches of megabenthos. The depletion rate was assumed to vary between trawls on a given track, and was modelled by a beta distribution defined by a mean rate and a dispersion parameter. Maximum likelihood analysis of the sequence of catches on each track suggests that a single trawl removes a small, but non-negligible, fraction of the benthos. The combined effect of 13 trawls on each track, assuming the trawls were aligned, was to remove a substantial proportion of the initial biomass. Gastropods suffered the greatest impact (an estimated 95% removed, on average). Ascidians, sponges, echinoids, crustaceans and gorgonians were depleted by an estimated 74–86%, and all other taxonomic groups except algae (27% removed) were reduced by at least 54%. Using differential global positioning systems and careful navigation, we aimed to achieve a high degree of overlap between successive trawls. Nonetheless, records show that the trawler deviated from this path and it is likely that the net did not sweep exactly the same path during the 13 trawls on each track. A simulation study was conducted to examine the effect on parameter estimates of ignoring the probable non-alignment of trawls. There was little bias in the estimate of the dispersion parameter. With the level of dispersion found on these tracks, the estimated mean depletion rates would, however, have been biased (upwards when the true mean depletion rate was below 15%, downwards when the true mean depletion rate was above 15%). This means that most mean depletion rates estimated from the catch data are probably biased by 2–3%. The depletion rates estimated from this study may be acceptable in areas that are trawled infrequently or sparsely. However, the cumulative effect of frequent trawls in an area of high intensity trawling is likely to be substantial both in terms of organisms directly affected by trawling and indirectly due to attracting scavengers and removing refuge habitat for fish and other mobile organisms.     

Drag force acting on biofouled net panels

Measurements were made to assess the increase in drag on aquaculture cage netting due to biofouling. Drag force was obtained by towing net panels, perpendicular to the incident flow, in experiments conducted in a tow tank and in the field. The net panels were fabricated from netting stretched within a 1 m² pipe frame. They were towed at various speeds, and drag force was measured using a bridle-pulley arrangement terminating in a load cell. The frame without netting was also drag tested so that net-only results could be obtained by subtracting out the frame contribution. Measurements of drag force and velocity were processed to yield drag coefficients.

Clean nets were drag tested in the University of New Hampshire (UNH) 36.5 m long tow tank. Nets were then exposed to biofouling during the summer of 2004 at the UNH open ocean aquaculture demonstration site 1.6 km south of the Isles of Shoals, New Hampshire, U.S.A. Nine net panels were recovered on 6 October 2004 and immediately drag tested at sea to minimize disturbing the fouling communities. The majority of the growth was skeleton shrimp (Caprella sp.) with some colonial hydroids (Tubularia sp.), blue mussels (Mytilus edulus) and rock borer clams (Hiatella actica). Since the deployment depth was 15 m (commensurate with submerged cages at the site), no algae were present. The net panels had been subject to several different antifouling treatments, so the extent of growth varied amongst the panels. Drag force measurements were made using a bridle-pulley-load cell configuration similar to that employed in the tow tank. Fixtures and instruments were mounted on an unpowered catamaran that was towed alongside a workboat. Thus, the catamaran served as the “carriage” for field measurements.

Increases in net-only drag coefficient varied from 6 to 240% of the clean net values. The maximum biofouled net drag coefficient was 0.599 based on net outline area. Biofouled drag coefficients generally increased with solidity (projected area of blockage divided by outline area) and volume of growth. There was, however, considerable scatter attributed in part to different mixes of species present.     

Population assessment of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka caught by recreational angling and commercial fishery in Lake Toya, Japan

ABSTRACT: We carried out mail and access point surveys to estimate the catch numbers, angling effort of recreational angling and the population of sockeye salmon Oncorhynchus nerka in Lake Toya in 1998 and 1999. The mail survey questions in questionnaires distributed to anglers with a recreational angling license included date of angling, caught fish species and size, and catch number. In the access point survey we also asked anglers if they had a license. We measured the fork length and weight of caught fish. The catch rate (catch number in a day by each angler) from both surveys showed no significant difference, suggesting no bias for the catch rate between surveys. The estimated total angling effort was 1760 people (1998), and 1516 people (1999). The estimated recreational catch was 28 889 (1998) and 5455 (1999), that is, two or three times larger than the commercial catch. The fish population was estimated by using the DeLury method as 60 262 (1998) and 10 806 (1999). The total exploitation rate was 62% (1998) and 78% (1999). The size of caught fish was much larger in 1999 than 1998 because of the difference in age composition.