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SIDESCAN SONAR AS A TOOL FOR DETECTION OF DEMERSAl FISH HABITATS

1987; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; Volume: 85; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

1937-4518

Kenneth W. Able, David C. Twichell, Churchill B. Grimes, Robert S. Jones,

Fish Ecology and Management Studies

Sidescan sonar can be an effective tool for the determination of the habitat distribution of commer­ cially important species. This technique has the advantage of rapidly mapping large areas of the seafloor. Sidescan images (sonographs) may also help to identify appropriate fishing gears for differ­ ent types of seafloor or areas to be avoided with certain types of gears. During the early stages of exploration, verification ofsidescan sonar sonographs is critical to successful identification of impor­ tant habitat types. Tilefishes (Lopholatilus and Caulolatilus) are especially good target species be­ cause they construct large burrows in the seafloor or live around boulders. both of which are easily detectable on sonographs. In some special circumstances the estimates of tilefish burrow densities from sonographs can be used to estimate standing stock. In many localities the burrow and boulder habitats of tilefish are shared with other commercially important species such as American lobsters. Homarus americanus: cusk. Brosme brosme; and ocean pout. Macrozoarces americanus. Acoustic techniques have become important tools in fishery research in the last 20 years. Of these. sonar has proven useful in a number of related efforts for pelagic fisheries (Forbes and Nakken 19721 including the detection of fishes in the water column (Harden-Jones and McCartney 1962; Anderson and Zahuranec 19771 and estima­ tion of fish numbers and biomass (Smith 1970;