Need data? Increasing the accessibility of acoustic data for the advancement of fisheries science

Carrie C. Wall (1), Michael Jech (2), Charles Anderson (1), and Susan J. McLean (3)

Abstract
Acoustic technologies are of increasing importance for studies examining aquatic ecosystems. Single and multibeam echosounders routinely collect active acoustic data that are used to estimate biomass, conduct trophic- and species-level identification, measure school and patch morphology and behavior, and characterize habitat for commercially and ecologically important fish and invertebrate species. These systems deliver valuable information for ecosystem-based fisheries management but they also produce massive amounts of data that are costly and complicated to maintain. In collaboration with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the National Centers for Environmental Information are archiving acoustic data collected from NOAA and academic fleets. Through these efforts, terabytes of acoustic data are now available to researchers and the public around the world. Benefits of this central repository include increased collaboration across institutions and the ability for researchers to address cross-cutting scientific questions to advance the field of marine ecosystem acoustics. Visualization products are being developed to allow researchers and the public to understand the quality and composition of large volumes of archived data more easily. These products illustrate multi-frequency acoustic data in a single image using a novel color scale as well as spatio-temporal patterns of acoustic backscatter using water column-integrated measurements. A case study demonstrating several derived products using a multi-year dataset collected off the Washington coast is presented.