Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center
2003 Awarded Research Projects
Continuation: Deployment of an acoustic data logger on commercial fishing vessels to evaluate the potential of fishing-induced declines in local pollock abundance
Abstract
A "proof of concept" project is proposed to evaluate the feasibility of installing acoustic data loggers on catcher/processors in the EBS pollock fishery to study localized depletion of pollock. The project will develop a prototype data logger that will interface with the ship's 38 kHz echo sounder and capture the acoustic backscatter returns. For the proof of concept phase of the project, our objective is to develop the logger system and install the system on three catcher/processors. The system will be tested for logging the acoustic backscatter onboard the vessel during the 2001 and 2002 seasons for walleye pollock in the Eastern Bering Sea. The backscatter data will be post-processed, and integrated with observer and logbook data. A preliminary analysis will be conducted, including classifying the searching behavior of the vessel, identifying pollock aggregations detected while searching, and evaluating what inferences, if any, can be made concerning the rate at which those aggregations are reduced in abundance. Successful implementation of the proof of concept project will provide the basis for a second phase in which the system will be installed on multiple fishing vessels, and development of more sophisticated analytical tools for inferring the temporal dynamics of pollock spatial pattern using multiple data sources.
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