Looking Forward on Forward-Facing Sonar

Fishy Fridays

Weekly spotlight on fisheries science journal articles

 

Jeff Kopaska
AFS Executive Director
jkopaska@fisheries.org

As I mentioned last week, I recently spend time with a wide variety of folks in the sportfishing community at the ASA (American Sportfishing Association) Sportfishing Summit.  One topic that was repeatedly brought up to me was the necessity for the fisheries management community to embrace and use technology such as forward-facing sonar (FFS) to assess fish populations. 

I am exceptionally proud of the work that has already been done regarding FFS by AFS members/researchers such as Ben Neely and David Smith on crappies and Blue Catfish (and I apologize to their unmentioned collaborators).  Today’s paper looks at an associated technology, side-scan sonar (SSS), as a fisheries assessment tool, and also references FFS as an emerging tool.  I think this is a great example of fisheries researchers contemplating the technology, looking at its strengths and limitations, and providing a framework for future research directions – thank you for your efforts!  Their assessment of the time and resources necessary to “process the data” is vitally important, and as they mention, think about the goals and objectives of the research.  Is sonar the best tool for the job?  Is it better to utilize nets or electrofishing, and which methodology is most cost-effective? What will AI image analysis do to change that cost-benefit in the future?  What are the data density requirement to get an accurate sample from SSS technology versus FFS, because FFS likely will require 10x more transects to cover the same water volume as SSS? 

This paper is an open-access article from the October issue of Fisheries.  If you are interested in this topic, I would also strongly encourage you to read another open access article in that issue of fisheries, regarding angler satisfaction.  Stealing from their abstract “We assessed the relationships between technology use—defined as the use of imaging technology such as sonar and underwater cameras—and catch, angler expectations of catch, and trip satisfaction using a dual intercept creel survey.”

https://doi.org/10.1002/fsh.11157

In looking over the author list for these two articles, I know a number of them simply because of my involvement in AFS. I called up Ben Neely this morning and chatted about these topics with him, because I think he one of our best authorities on these issues.  The network of people I have in the fisheries profession is a direct result of my involvement in AFS.  I know many of you are AFS members (and hopefully you have/will renew soon!).  If you are not a member, consider joining today!