Improved acoustic surveys that save time and money: integrating fisheries and ground-discrimination acoustic technologies [An article from: Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology]

This digital document is a journal article from Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
Field surveys involving ship time are notoriously costly. Whilst continuous acoustic surveys provide good value in terms of their data richness and spatial coverage when compared to point sample surveys (e.g. trawls, dredges, grabs), there is scope to improve survey methods and provide value-added data. We present technical details and an example application of an approach that maximises survey efficiency and data richness through the integration of two acoustic tools: a fisheries echo sounder and ground-discrimination system. Simultaneous, integrated operation of both systems provides a more cost-effective use of survey time by eliminating the need to conduct independent coverage. The scientific benefit is that the approach removes the temporal and spatial problems of comparing data from two independent surveys. Stated plainly, it enables fish to be placed with their habitat by linking information about the composition of the seafloor with their horizontal and vertical distribution.