Dataset: Howell fish catch data
Deployment: NEC-HH2006-1

numerical abundance, catch-per-unit-effort, percent composition

Principal Investigator:

W. Hunting Howell (University of New Hampshire, UNH)

BCO-DMO Data Manager:

Nancy Copley (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, WHOI BCO-DMO)

Project:

Northeast Consortium: Project Development (NEC_ProjDev)

Current State:

Final no updates expected

Version:

20110404

Version Date:

2011-04-04

Data URL:

https://osprey.bco-dmo.org/dataset-deployment/454511/data

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Description

"Development of a Multi-Beam Sonar as a Fisheries Tool for Stock Assessment and Essential Fish Habitat Identification of Groundfish in the Western Gulf of Maine"

This data set:
Mean and standard error (S.E.) for numerical abundance, catch-per-unit-effort (CPUE, fish per 30-minute tow), and percent composition (%) of fish enumerated in 10 tows of a 6.5-inch mesh otter trawl by F/V Stormy Weather in Area Closure 133 on 21, 22, and 25 June 2008.

Abstract
Stock assessments based on accurate abundance and distribution data are essential to developing effective management strategies for the Gulf of Maine stock of Atlantic cod, Gadus morhua. The purpose of this study was to prove the concept of using multi-beam sonar as a fisheries tool for studying the behavior and quantifying the abundance of groundfish. The focus of this research was was to develop multi-beam sonar (MBS) as a fisheries survey tool. MBS can complement traditional narrow-beam echosounder and trawl surveys because MBS has a large sampling volume, three-dimensional spatial description, and potentially fewer behavior-related sampling biases than traditional trawl surveys. Relationships between acoustic backscatter and fish biology need to be understood before reliable acoustic surveys using MBS can provide sciencebased information for stock assessments. A series of acoustic and optical measurements were made using 38- and 120-kHz EK60 split-beam echosounders and a 300 kHz EM3002 MBS. These were fixed to a surface platform over a 98 cubic meter submersible cage of 5-cm stretched mesh twine. After standard sphere calibration, the cage was stocked with 195 live Atlantic cod with a mean total length of 80.7 ± 0.8 cm (± standard error; range 51.5-105.0 cm) from nearby spawning grounds 10-15 km off the New Hampshire coast, USA. The sonars were synchronized to collect acoustic data on a captive population of mature cod of known size and number under video surveillance by two underwater cameras. Cod were incrementally removed from the cage to provide a time-series of acoustic backscatter at four densities (n=195, 116, 66, and 23). Preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of the EM3002 MBS to detect cod and show that quantification of the acoustic backscatter is possible.

See final report

Methods & Sampling

Dataset acquisition description

Study Area
Field collections were made on spawning grounds 10-15 km off the New Hampshire coast, USA and
experiments were conducted at the Open Ocean Aquaculture site located approximately 1 mile south of the Isles of Shoals, off the coast of New Hampshire. Dockside preparation were made at the UNH Coastal Marine Laboratory at Fort Constitution, Portsmouth, NH and the Jackson Estuarine Laboratory at Adams Point, Durham, NH.

Fish Sampling
Live Atlantic cod were collected with a 6.5-inch mesh otter trawl over a total of thirteen 30-minute tows made by F/V Stormy Weather on 21, 22 and 25 June 2007. Live Atlantic cod and haddock were individually measured (total length) and placed into 1 m3 insulated polyethylene containers for transport to the site. A continuously running deck hose was used to circulate and exchange water in live wells during transit from the nearby fishing area to the cage. Fish were stocked in the cage and mortalities were removed each day. After experiments were completed, fish were removed from the experimental cage at the surface with large dip nets, measured, and counted. In accordance with NMFS permits and IACUC, all fish were caught using approved gear, transported live, held in captivity for a short term, and then released after experiments were completed.

Data Processing Description

Dataset Processing Description

Preliminary results demonstrate the feasibility of the EM3002 MBS to detect cod and show that quantification of the acoustic backscatter is possible.

The Northeast Consortium facilitated a technical mail review of this project, the results of which were submitted to the New England Fishery Management Council in July 2008. The Council is incorporating project information as appropriate.

The results and experience from this project led to a 2008-2009 New Hampshire Sea Grant award for more extensive experimentation.

More information about this dataset deployment

Funding

Award Number	Funding Source
unknown NEC_ProjDev NEC	NorthEast Consortium

Instruments

Otter Trawl

Supplied Description:

6.5-inch mesh otter trawl

Instrument Type

Generic Name: Otter Trawl

Community Identifier: http://vocab.nerc.ac.uk/collection/L05/current/61/

Generic Description:

Otter trawls have large rectangular otter boards which are used to keep the mouth of the trawl net open. Otter boards are made of timber or steel and are positioned in such a way that the hydrodynamic forces, acting on them when the net is towed along the seabed, pushes them outwards and prevents the mouth of the net from closing. The speed that the trawl is towed at depends on the swimming speed of the species which is being targeted and the exact gear that is being used, but for most demersal species, a speed of around 4 knots (7 km/h) is appropriate. More: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom_trawling

Parameters

Supplied Name	Supplied description	Supplied Units	Standard Name
common_name	commonly used name of the fish species	text	common_name
species	taxonomic name	text	species
catch_total	total number of fish caught	integer	no_bcodmo_term
catch_mean	mean number of fish caught	number	no_bcodmo_term
catch_se	standard error of number of fish caught	number	no_bcodmo_term
cpue_mean	catch per unit effort	fish per 30-minute tow	no_bcodmo_term
cpeu_se	standard error of catch per unit effort	number	no_bcodmo_term
pcent_composition_mean	mean percent composition of fish caught	number	no_bcodmo_term
pcent_composition_se	standard error of the percent composition of fish caught	number	no_bcodmo_term

Database

Contribute Data

Dataset: Howell fish catch data
Deployment: NEC-HH2006-1

Dataset acquisition description

Dataset Processing Description

Database

Contribute Data

Dataset: Howell fish catch dataDeployment: NEC-HH2006-1

Dataset acquisition description

Dataset Processing Description

Dataset: Howell fish catch data
Deployment: NEC-HH2006-1