The design of this field mission is three fold: (1) to spatially characterize the distribution, abundance and size of both reef fishes and macro invertebrates within and around the waters of the Flower Gardens National Marine Sanctuary, (2) to relate this information to in-situ data collected on associated habitat parameters and (3) to use hydroacoustics technologies for a comprehensive assessment of East and West Bank. This information collected will be used to evaluate the utility of an experimental fishing closure on one of the most pristine reefs under US jurisdiction in the tropical Western Atlantic. Data collected during this mission (pre-closure) will provide baseline information necessary to evaluate closure efficacy and assess whether the closure should become permanent.
1. To design and implement a mobile fisheries sonar survey in concert with multibeam echosounder hydrographic surveys to assess and map fish densities and biomass within and outside proposed management zones.2. To assess distribution of fish densities relative to management and ecological reserve boundaries and other differences that may be associated with management zones and habitat types, particularly as fish distributions relate to movements between habitat types.3. To assess the extent of fish density distributions in comparison with ROV surveys and fish community assessments.
ground condition
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101 Pivers Island Road
Not applicable
The fish acoustic data is for the East and West Banks for the Flower Garden National Marine Sanctuary. Surveyed predefined areas of the sanctuary in a variety of habitats. The scientific echosounder was calibrated using standard calibrations techniques(FOOTE et. al. 1981). All data was scrutinized and edited for bad data returns. Applied a tracking algorithmic to detect fish in the water column. All data analyses were conducted using Echoview 5.1 software.
Acoustic data was collected aboard the R/V Manta using ES120-7C splitbeam transducer. The Kongsberg ES120-7C transducer was pole mounted aboard the R/V Manta. Kongsberg ES transceivers and Simard ES60 software was used in the data acquisition.
Echoview 5.2 was used in this step of the data processing. The EK60 .raw file format was edited for erroneous ping returns and acoustic noise. Fish were track using a tracking algorithm and the fish tracks were export in a .csv format.
An acoustic processing script(V6.4) was used to calculate the density and size of fish through out the water column. Then projected(WGS84) in 100 square meter resolution ESRI shapefile.
Arc Catalog was used to merge the daily shapefiles into one cruise shapefile. Metadata was added using arc catalog.
Unique Feature Identifier
ERSI
Geometric Shape
Area of the survey divided into 100 meter square sections
Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research (CCFHR)
The angular distance north or south of the earth's equator, measured in degrees. The center point of the 100 meter squared intervals.
The angular distance East or West from the Prime Meridian, measured in degrees. The center point of the 100 meter squared intervals.
Average Size of Small Fish <11cm in a given interval.
Density of Small Fish(<11cm) in a given interval.
Average Size of Medium Fish between 11cm and 29cm in a given interval
Density of Medium Size Fish(between11cm and 29cm) in a given interval
Average Size of Large Fish >29cm in a given interval
Density of Large Fish >29cm in a given interval
Total density of fish for the given interval.
Average distance above the bottom of the fish within a given interval
Date of the data during collection for a given interval in EST
Eastern Standard Time of the data during collection for a given interval
Date of the data during collection for a given interval in Greenwich Mean Time
Greenwich Mean Time of the data during collection for a given interval
The originating acoustic data file
These data were prepared by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, make any warranty, expressed or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference therein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. Any views and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof. Although all data have been used by NOAA, no warranty, expressed or implied, is made by NOAA as to the accuracy of the data and/or related materials. The act of distribution shall not constitute any such warranty, and no responsibility is assumed by NOAA in the use of these data or related materials.NOAA makes no warranty regarding these data, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA can not assume liability for and damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data, nor as a result of the failure of these data to function on a particular system.
Contact Chris Taylor @ chris.taylor@noaa.gov
