Untrawlable Habitat Strategic Initiative (2014 - 2015)

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center Mississippi Laboratories conducts standardized fisheries independent resource surveys in the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and U.S. Caribbean to provide abundance and distribution information to support regional and international stock assessments. In FY2014 and FY2015, the NMFS Advanced Science and Technology Working Group funded the Untrawlable Habitat Strategic Initiative to execute a testbed study designed to evaluate the performance of transitional advanced technologies. This study included a testbed range of acoustic and optical sensors to measure sampling performance and fish reactions to alternative sampling platforms (e.g. stationary, AUV and towed optical systems) in untrawlable habitats (e.g. reef). Biological data include species specific fish abundance, fish density, behavioral responses. Abiotic data include GIS information such as bathymetry, camera and vehicle position, time and date stamp.