REMOTE SENSING OF MIGRATORY FISH
DURING ATLANTIC SALMON SMOLT MIGRATION
National Marine Fisheries Service
Sheepscot River, ME
The Kleinschmidt and Aquacoustics team is currently
using both conventional split beam and Dual-frequency
Identification Sonar (DIDSON) to assist the National
Marine Fisheries Service in research and management of
ESA-listed populations of Atlantic Salmon on the
Sheepscot River, Maine. Monitoring data are used by
NMFS as a stock assessment tool, and to provide
quantitative feedback on year class strength. Although
NMFS has historically gathered these data using an
anchored rotary auger trap, this method is not costeffective
and has variable sampling efficiency.
Kleinschmidt and Aquacoustics are experimentally
deploying a fixed hydroacoustics system to estimate the
total salmon smolts annually exiting the Sheepscot River
as an alternative to the rotary traps. The final acoustic
monitoring system will provide more quantitative data
under a wider range of field conditions with greater safety
and reliability.
Kleinschmidt and Aquacoustics reconnoitered and surveyed
the river to select remote-monitoring sites that satisfy
program needs, developed a site-selection matrix that was
completed during subsequent reconnaissance and
experimentally deployed a prototype acoustics unit that
successfully depicted bottom topography and detected
migratory fish. The technical team used these data to select
sites where acoustic data can be collected concurrently by
both horizontally-fixed split-beam and DIDSON
hydroacoustic systems, and the historically-used rotary
traps. This allows real-time empirical comparisons of the
relative sampling efficiency of all monitoring systems. At
the conclusion of the study, these data will be used to
design a permanent monitoring system capable of providing
real-time quantitative data on salmon smolt migration in
this river.
For further information contact Brandon Kulik, Kleinschmidt, Pittsfield, Maine (207) 487-3328.