Alternative Survey Strategies: Technology, Research, Methods and Applicability

Lethal sampling of fish and their habitats by using traditional extractive methods such as nets or hooks may not be appropriate in many settings.  Research catch in many areas is constrained if fish are protected or abundance is low or if habitats are protected and therefore must be kept pristine.  In these areas non-lethal, low-impact survey methods are needed.  In addition, conventional gears used for surveys cannot sample in rugged habitats and therefore many of these rocky areas that are the preferred habitats of many species have gone largely unsurveyed. Alternative survey strategies and technologies such as diving, genetic hooks, baited cameras, and underwater camera/video deployed from AUVs, ROVs or submersibles, are being developed and may be amendable for use in surveys.  However in most cases these tools have not been applied for routine monitoring of resources.  The symposium will examine new technologies and survey strategies that will improve our monitoring and understanding of fish resources and discuss how these tools can be used to provide long-term monitoring.  Challenges to survey designs, affordability and technology will be discussed.

 Symposium objectives include:

• Increasing the understanding of how recent advances in technology or survey methods can be used to develop non-lethal, low impact survey approaches to evaluate population change for single or multiple species under-sampled with traditional survey gear.
• Evaluating management constraints and determine potential survey solutions that traditional gear cannot address.
• The symposium also offers a valuable opportunity for scientists and natural resource managers in the AFS community to gather for a discussion of their information needs and opportunities and to begin establish the research and management collaborations needed to address long-term monitoring strategies.