Species identification in deep water using multiple acoustic frequencies

Abstract

Multifrequency 12, 38, and 120 kHz acoustics were used to identify the dominant fish groups around a deepwater (>600 m) seamount (a known spawning site for orange roughy, Hoplostethus atlanticus) by amplitude mixing of the frequencies. This method showed three distinct acoustic groupings that corresponded to three groups of fishes based on size and swimbladder type: myctophids of total length less than 10 cm, morids and macrourids with lengths >30 cm, and orange roughy with a mean standard length of 36 cm. These three groups were the dominant groups caught in the demersal and pelagic trawls in the study area. A simple model of swimbladder resonance at depth of large and small gas-filled bladder fish groups is in agreement with our experimental observations. Traditionally, demersal and pelagic trawling is used to identify fish species in acoustic records. However, orange roughy are rarely caught in mid-water owing to net avoidance. Using three frequencies, these groups could be distinguished directly over their entire vertical extent from the acoustic records. This reduces a major source of positive bias uncertainty (factor range of 2.0–6.4) in the orange roughy biomass estimates.