2023 Alaska Fisheries Science Center Seminar Series -- Joe Warren
Conducting an Acoustic Survey of Sardines in the Philippines?
About
Sardines are a critical part of both the Philippine diet and economy. A variety of fishing methods ranging from hook and line, lift nets, and vessel-based nets are used throughout the country by fishing companies, communities, and individuals. Further complicating the study of sardines in this region is the spatial extent and geographic variability of a country composed of more than 7,500 islands. With support from the Atkinson Foundation and colleagues at the Environmental Defense Fund and Cornell University, a pilot study was conducted in 2018 to determine if passive and/or active acoustics would be useful tool for BFAR (the Philippine version of NMFS) to monitor or assess sardine abundances. A follow-up trip (ending four days prior to this seminar) was undertaken to: train BFAR personnel in the operation of fishery echosounders, conduct pilot acoustic surveys, and provide them with two multi-frequency, broadband echosounders to use for additional data collection. Follow-up meetings are scheduled with BFAR personnel to undertake data analysis and interpretation.
For more information contact:
Abigail McCarthy (Abigail.McCarthy@noaa.gov) or Alexandra Dowlin (Alexandra.Dowlin@noaa.gov)
