Using Acoustic Telemetry Techniques to Estimate Fish Survival and Behavior

This symposium will present a comprehensive cross-section of current fisheries research using acoustic tags, emphasizing recent advances in the technology such as fine-scale three-dimensional (3-D) target positioning, deployment practices, and statistical analysis methods.  Current generation acoustic tags can be uniformly detected over long ranges and with depth, allowing researchers to accurately estimate fish survival, distribution, and behavior on large spatial scales.  The availability of miniaturized acoustic tags now allows monitoring of very small fish (under 100 mm in length).  The research projects described will include evaluation of fish swimming paths, behavior, habitat use, survival rates, statistical analysis, study design, and recommended sampling protocols.  Study applications investigating a number of species (e.g. salmon, trout, bass, sturgeon) in diverse environments will be presented, using acoustic tag systems from several manufacturers.  The objective of the symposium is to describe the sampling methodologies, resolution and type of results that can be achieved using advanced acoustic telemetry systems.  The value of this symposium to AFS members and participants will be that the audience will gain insights into the practicality and limits of using acoustic tags directly from the hands-on, real-world researchers and statisticians.  In addition to presenting the methods and results for their respective studies, presenters will discuss the advantages, disadvantages, recommended protocols, and effort levels required to implement acoustic tag monitoring techniques for fisheries research applications.