Fisheries Acoustics
Fisheries Acoustics uses sound to detect, map, count distributions of aquatic organisms, and estimate their biomass. This course mainly teaches the application of acoustics as a sampling tool in fishery resources assessment, fishery resources dynamic monitoring and the specific methods of marine fishery resources estimation by acoustics.
Instructor: Assoc. Prof. Jianfeng Tong
Term: Spring
Location: TBD
Time: TBD
Course Overview
This course aims to help students accumulate theoretical knowledge and professional technical ability in the sustainable development, utilization, and management of marine fishery resources. Students will:
- Master the basic knowledge of fisheries acoustic survey methods.
- Become familiar with the operation of fisheries acoustic instruments.
- Develop the ability to independently carry out fisheries resource acoustic surveys.
- Analyze fisheries acoustic habitat indices and their relationship with environmental factors.
Prerequisites
- Fisheries Oceanography
- Fishery Survey and Sampling Design
Textbooks
- “Fisheries Acoustics: Theory and Practice, Second Edition” by John Simmonds, David MacLennan (2007)
- “Deep-sea and Polar Fishery Resources Acoustic Assessment Technology” (Draft) by Tang Yong et al. (Expected 2026)
Grading
- Assignments (Mid-term Oral Report): 40%
- Final Exam (Closed-book): 60%
Schedule
| Week | Date | Topic | Materials |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction to Fisheries Acoustics Background, definition, research content, and significance of fisheries acoustics. Overview of historical development and future prospects. |
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| 2 | Underwater Acoustic Equipment Working principles and hardware composition of fisheries acoustic survey equipment (Echosounders, Sonars, Acoustic Cameras). |
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| 3 | Equipment Operation and Experiments Operation and parameter settings of echosounders and acoustic cameras. Hands-on experiments with acoustic instruments. |
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| 4 | Fundamentals of Underwater Acoustics Basic concepts, sound propagation, speed of sound, and the sonar equation in fisheries acoustics. |
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| 5 | Survey Methods and Design Classification of surveys, preparation, and calibration of scientific echosounders (standard sphere method). |
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| 6 | Advanced Survey Design Survey design elements, stratified and adaptive sampling methods, and error analysis. |
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| 7 | Data Processing Introduction to post-processing software, data formats, and reading/visualization of echograms. |
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| 8 | Data Analysis and Resource Assessment Target strength models, echo integration, species identification, and biomass estimation. |
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