Saithe Acoustics in the North Sea

Background and Objective

Both commercial fisheries and scientific surveys to record stock parameters of saithe are carried out with demersal trawls. An unknown proportion of saithe is distributed outside of the sampled layers. Concurrent acoustic recordings bear the potential to quantify this unknown proportion. Continuous recording of hydroacoustic data could significantly increase the spatial and temporal resolution of saithe stock information.

Target Group

Science

Approach

• Participation in commercial and scientific seagoing surveys and collection of hydroacoustic and biological data
• Application and development of hydroacoustic methods for the detection and identification of saithe using open source and commercial software packages
• Application and development of statistical methods to estimate the abundance and biomass of saithe
• Participation in and presentation of results at relevant scientific working groups and conferences
• Publication of results in scientific journals and other suitable media

Our Research Questions

• Can the use of hydroacoustic information for distribution and abundance estimates reduce uncertainties within the stock assessment of saithe and better resolve and explain stock trends?
• Can the opportunistic and automated collection of hydroacoustic data from commercial vessels, in combination with catch information, be a viable data source, or is a scientific acoustic trawl survey necessary to reduce uncertainties?

Preliminary Results

Links and Downloads

ICES Saithe Factsheet

Kutterfisch