Impingement Monitoring Using Imaging Sonar Systems

Impingement Monitoring Using Imaging Sonar Systems

Fish Impingement Monitoring

  • Imaging sonar system for “video-like” clarity of fish activity and behaviour.
  • Fish counts, swimming speed and direction easily measured.
  • Operates day & night and in high turbidity. No light source required.
  • Continuous logging and automated post-processing allows long-term monitoring.
  • Compliant with EPA Clean Water Act § 316(b) monitoring requirements.

What is ARIS, DIDSON & Mesotech M3-HF?

ARIS (Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar), it’s predecessor, DIDSON (Dual-frequency IDentification SONar) and the new Kongsberg-Discovery M3-HF FlexView MBES have been referred to as “acoustic cameras” because of their near video-quality images they produce using very high frequency sound waves. These imaging sonar models can be deployed in shallow waters, where traditional echosounders have more difficulty, and they allow the user to visualize fish targets with near video quality below the water’s surface.

What can imaging sonars be used for?

ARIS, DIDSON and M3-HF (FlexView) have many applications in fisheries and aquatic science. They can be used for enumerating and measuring indivudual fish passing through streams, fish ladders, and other areas of interest and for identifying bottom features and habitat.

Using ARIS, DIDSON and M3-HF (FlexView), Milne Technologies has helped clients to monitor migratory fishes (including Lake Sturgeon, Salmon spc., Striped Bass, Eulachon (Smelt spc.) and river spawning Lake Whitefish) as well as view underwater nets to ensure proper deployment and to quantify "fish flux" and escapement rates.

Services that Milne Technologies provides related to imaging multibeam sonars

  • Purchasing or leasing of appropriate equipment depending on project scope and objectives.
  • On-site set-up and deployment of equipment and project maintenance.
  • Develop scientifically rigorous study design in consulation with client.
  • Detailed analysis of data including automated enumuration and measurement of fish targets.
  • Written report including publication-quality methods, results and recomendations for future projects.

Kongsberg-Discovery M3-HF Multibeam Imaging Sonar Observations of Migrating Salmon.

The Kongsberg-Discovery “M3-HF/Flexview” multibeam imaging sonar system allows user selectable frequencies operating at 950 kHz (140º field of view out to maximum 40 m range), 1200 kHz (75º field of view out to max 20 m range) and 1400 kHz (45º field of view out to max 10 m range) and therefore allows imaging of fish behaviour and movement through a wide field-of-view. Shown are migrating Chinook Salmon, staging in the Port Hope Harbour, before heading up the Ganaraska River, Ontario.

Automated DIDSON and ARIS Sonar Processing using Echoview Software.

An example of upstream migrating Whitefish in a Great Lakes tributary recorded using a Sound Metrics DIDSON multibeam imaging sonar. The video provides a demonstration of how the raw echogram data are processed using Echoview hydroacoustic processing software.

Fish Behaviour and Spawning Shoal Assessment  

Shown is a shoal of spawning fish within a Great Lakes coastal wetland. We used Echoview hydroacoustic processing software to automate background removal, sonar target detection, and fish tracking.

Sturgeon, American Eel and "Species At Risk"    

Imaging multibeam sonar systems are ideal for detecting and identifying species at risk in riverine and shallow water systems. Shown is a Sturgeon detection from a survey of the Lower Fraser River, BC.