Towards abundance estimates for jack mackerel in the South Pacific based on acoustic data collected by the commercial vessels

Abstract

Pelagic trawlers make intensive use of echosounders and therefore could potentially be used as acoustic data collection platforms. This project investigated the possibility of collecting acoustic data and its potential utility to estimate fish stock biomass. The scope of the project was to develop and - when possible - test the tools that would be necessary for large scale data collection from commercial vessels, and investigate the suitability of acoustic data to derive abundance indices