Abstract
The long-term goal of this program is to quantify and evaluate the ability of three active acoustic technologies (echosounder, multibeam sonar, and acoustic camera) to characterize and monitor animal densities and distributions at a proposed hydrokinetic site. Data from stationary, bottom-mounted acoustic packages will be compared to that from a mobile, surface survey. Results from this study will inform the choice, deployment, and data analyses of acoustic instrumentation use at marine hydrokinetic (MHK) sites.
Objectives
Research objectives include evaluation of acoustic technologies through monitoring and characterization of animal densities and distributions at a proposed marine hydrokinetic site in Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, WA. More specifically, to describe spatio-temporal distributions of macro-invertebrate, fish, seabird, and marine mammal populations at the study site through a combination of efforts including: collecting temporally-indexed data from an upward-looking echosounder, multibeam sonar, and an acoustic camera, mobile active acoustic surveys, seabird/marine mammal counts, and midwater trawling surveys. Stationary instrument data will be compared to mobile acoustic survey data to evaluate technologies and to inform data acquisition at proposed or active marine hydrokinetic sites.