NOAA Protocols for Fisheries Acoustics Surveys and Related ...

Introduction
Scientists from the United States (NOAA Fisheries) and Canada (Department of Fisheries
and Oceans) jointly conduct periodic acoustic surveys of Pacific hake, Merluccius productus,
along the west coasts of both countries. The age-specific estimates of total population
abundance derived from the surveys are a key data source for the joint US-Canada Pacific hake
stock assessments and ultimately act as the foundation for advice on international harvest levels.
These integrated acoustic and trawl surveys, used to assess the distribution and biology, in
addition to the status and trends in abundance of Pacific hake, were historically conducted
triennially by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) beginning in 1977 and annually along
the Canadian west coast since 1990 by Pacific Biological Station (PBS) scientists. The triennial
surveys in 1995, 1998, and 2001 were carried out jointly by AFSC and DFO.
Following 2001, the responsibility of the US portion of the survey was transferred to Fishery
Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) Division scientists at the Northwest Fisheries
Science Center (NWFSC). A joint survey was conducted by FRAM and PBS scientists in 2003,
marking not only the change in the US participants but also a change to a newly-adopted biennial
survey regimen. As in past efforts, this survey was performed in the summer months (June-
September) targeting aggregations of Pacific hake along the continental shelf and break with a
geographic coverage that ranged from central California to north of Queen Charlotte Sound
(36°30’N - 54°30’N).
The equipment and survey techniques have evolved over the 26-year history of this survey.
Improvements in both, especially the rapid and continuous technological advances in the echo
sounding systems, have advanced the capabilities of the survey. The NWFSC inherited this
current state of survey operations from the AFSC with the transfer of the survey responsibility.
For the purposes of these regional protocols, only the most recent operational and procedural
elements of the joint Pacific hake survey are considered. The reader should note that the
protocols detailed below pertain to acoustic data collected with SIMRAD EK500 quantitative
echo sounding systems (Simrad, 1996) (updates to this protocol are anticipated in the near future
with the replacement of the SIMRAD EK/ER 60 echo sounding system.) 38 kHz and 120 kHz
split-beam transducers are deployed off all participating survey vessels (currently the NOAA
Ship Miller Freeman and the CCGS W.E. Ricker), with the 38 kHz system the primary data
source for quantitative Pacific hake backscatter measurements.
The NOAA mandate to develop national and regional protocols for acoustic-based surveys
did not consider joint international programs such as the Pacific hake acoustic survey. The
protocols listed below pertain strictly to the US portion of the survey. Our Canadian
collaborators are aware of the protocol mandate and will be party to the results for their
consideration. However, the procedures and standards adopted for the joint Pacific hake survey
and listed herein are not to be construed as applicable for the survey practices beyond NOAA
and do not necessary signify acceptance and approval by the sovereign of Canada. Details of the
procedures and practices by the DFO are listed in Kieser et al. (1998, 1999).
The equation below describes the conversion of measured acoustical energy (E i ,) to a
biomass estimate (B i ) for a given class of fish i, using calibration parameters (C i ), the estimated
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