EK500 Water Column Sonar Data Collected During MF0316

The 2003 Joint U.S.-Canada Integrated Acoustic and Trawl Survey of Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) (MF0316, EK500). Scientists from the Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring (FRAM) division at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Pacific region of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) conducted the Joint 2003 Integrated Acoustic Survey (IAT) survey aboard the Canadian Coast Guard Ship (CCGS) W.E. Ricker, a stern trawler equipped for fisheries and oceanographic research. Pacific Hake (Merluccius productus) aggregations were targeted along the continental shelf and upper slope of the entire survey area.

Hake populations were surveyed along a series of parallel line transects that in general were oriented east-west, spaced at an interval of 10 nmi apart, and traversed sequentially in alternating directions; The survey began from south of Monterey, CA (36.1°N) to the Dixon Entrance area, Canada (51.4°N) between June 29 and Sep. 1. All transects up to the Dixon Entrance and along the west coast of Haida Gwaii were completed. Sea depth at the inshore end of individual transects was nominally 50 m. Offshore extent of individual transects was typically at a depth of 1,500 m.