Semi-automated analysis of DIDSON data for fish counting, sizing and tracking
Contents
Background information | Aquacoustics project page
Related links
Forum topic | About "procedures" | About "techniques" | Sharing techniques | Disclaimer
Background information
Counting, sizing and tracking Chinook salmon in the Kenai River, Alaska
The team at Aquacoustics Inc. in Alaska have developed a semi-automated data-processing approach for DIDSON data using Echoview to count, size and track Chinook salmon in the Kenai River.
This work was undertaken on behalf of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Sport Fish Sonar Program.
Left: DIDSON movie clip of one large Chinook salmon followed by a group of three sockeye-sized salmon in the Kenai River.
Right: The Kenai River sonar site, Alaska.
Images courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game Sport Fish Sonar Program.
.jpg)
From the Aquacoustics project page: "The goal was to obtain fish length estimates from DIDSON data with a method that is faster and requires fewer user interactions than manual measurements but at the same time produces comparable estimates of Chinook salmon abundance in a mixture model".
Data flow
Echoview is used in this approach to detect and track the DIDSON fish images and estimate fish length. The Stationary Sonar module is required.
Many of the interactions with Echoview are automated via Scripting, which requires the Echoview Scripting module. Aquacoustics have designed a convenient control panel for this called the "Kenai EV Auto-Processor.exe".
An overview of the data-processing steps from the Aquacoustics manual.
Processing times are based on Kenai River data (10 min of data collected per hour) and refer to the time it takes to process 1 day of 1 stratum (range layer). On average, about 1000 fish can be measured in less than 1 hour of processing time.
View the data flow for the Echoview template.
Aquacoustics project page
For further information about this application, please head to the Aquacoustics project page where you can:
- Read more about the project
- Downoad the field manual
- Download narrated video tutorials
Keywords: Aquacoustics Inc.; CSOT; background-noise removal; imaging sonar; DIDSON; multibeam target detection; fish size; fish tracking; fish counting; Chinook salmon; sockeye salmon
