Using Hydroacoustics to Understand Fish Presence and Vertical Distribution in a Tidally Dynamic Region Targeted for Energy Extraction

The use of tidal currents by fishes for movements to and from onshore spawning, foraging, and nursery grounds is well documented. However, fishes’ use of the water column in tidal currents frequently exceeding 1.5 m · s-1 is largely unknown. With growing interest in extracting energy from the tides, understanding animal use of these dynamic environments has become essential to determining environmental effects of tidal energy devices. To assess the effects of a tidal energy device on fishes, we used down-looking single-beam hydroacoustic technology to collect pre-deployment data on the presence and vertical distribution of fishes at a pilot project site and a control site in Cobscook Bay, ME. Twenty-four-hour stationary surveys were conducted in each season of 2010 and 2011. Relative fish density and vertical distribution were analyzed for variation with respect to site, year, month, and diel and tidal cycles. A seasonal pattern in fish density was apparent in both years at both sites, with maxima in spring and late fall. Fish density was generally highest near the sea floor. Diel changes in vertical distribution were frequently observed, but changes in distribution related to tidal cycle were inconsistent. Results from the project and control sites were very similar, demonstrating that the control site provides a reference for quantifying changes in fish density and vertical distribution related to the tidal device. This approach and baseline dataset will be used to compare hydroacoustic data collected at the project and control sites after device deployment.

[1]  J. Krebs,et al.  Fish schooling , 2020, Nature.

[2]  R. Kleckner,et al.  Selective tidal stream transport in the estuarine migration of glass eels of the American eel (Anguilla rostrata) , 1982 .

[3]  R. Saunders,et al.  Maine's Diadromous Fish Community , 2006 .

[4]  P. Auster.  A Review of the Present State of Understanding of Marine Fish Communities , 1988 .

[5]  Vivien M. Brawn,et al.  Seasonal and Diurnal Vertical Distribution of Herring (Clupea harengus L.) in Passamaquoddy, Bay, N.B. , 1960 .

[6]  B. Polagye,et al.  Environmental Effects of Tidal Energy Development: Proceedings of a Scientific Workshop March 22-25, 2010 , 2011 .

[7]  Karl K. Turekian,et al.  Encyclopedia of Ocean Sciences , 2001 .

[8]  U. Krumme,et al.  Observations of fish migration in a macrotidal mangrove channel in Northern Brazil using a 200-kHz split-beam sonar , 2003 .

[9]  D. Gilbert,et al.  Effects of tidal streams on migrating Atlantic mackerel, Scomber scombrus L. , 1995 .

[10]  Jan Kubečka,et al.  Diurnal changes of fish behaviour in a lowland river monitored by a dual-beam echosounder , 1998 .

[11]  S. L. Weiss,et al.  RETENTION OF THREE TAXA OF POSTLARVAL FISHES IN AN INTENSIVELY FLUSHED TIDAL ESTUARY, CAPE FEAR RIVER, NORTH CAROLINA , 1980 .

[12]  J. F. D. Veen.  On selective tidal transport in the migration of North Sea Plaice (pleuronectes platessa) and other flatfish species , 1978 .

[13]  A. Moore,et al.  The migratory behaviour of wild sea trout (Salmo trutta L.) smolts in the estuary of the River Conwy, North Wales , 1998 .

[14]  J. Stockwell,et al.  Foraging, bioenergetic and predation constraints on diel vertical migration: field observations and modelling of reverse migration by young-of-the-year herring Clupea harengus. , 2011, Journal of fish biology.

[15]  D. Woolf,et al.  Strategic priorities for assessing ecological impacts of marine renewable energy devices in the Pentland Firth (Scotland, UK) , 2009 .

[16]  P. Gough,et al.  Movement of adult Atlantic salmon in the Usk estuary, Wales , 1998 .

[17]  D. Campbell,et al.  Ecosystem Modeling in Cobscook Bay, Maine: A Summary, Perspective, and Look Forward , 2004 .

[18]  S. Gauthier,et al.  Acoustic observation of diel vertical migration and shoaling behaviour in Atlantic redfishes , 2002 .

[19]  M. Francis,et al.  Diurnal and Tidal Variation in the Abundance of the Fish Fauna of a Temperate Tidal Mudflat , 2002 .

[20]  Marti J. Anderson,et al.  Permutation Tests for Linear Models , 2001 .

[21]  D. Levy.  Reciprocal diel vertical migration behavior in planktivores and zooplankton in British Columbia lakes , 1990 .

[22]  D. Levy,et al.  Selective tidal stream transport of adult sockeye salmon (Oncorhynchus nerka) in the Fraser River Estuary , 1995 .

[23]  A. Gill.  Offshore renewable energy - ecological implications of generating electricity in the coastal zone. , 2005 .

[24]  K. Foote.  Calibration of acoustic instruments for fish density estimation : a practical guide , 1987 .

[25]  Modeling Tidal Circulation and Exchange in Cobscook Bay, Maine , 2004 .

[26]  B. Polagye,et al.  Environmental Effects of Tidal Energy Development , 2011 .

[27]  K. Foote.  Linearity of fisheries acoustics, with addition theorems , 1983 .

[28]  A. Tyler.  Periodic and Resident Components in Communities of Atlantic Fishes , 1971 .

[29]  U. Krumme.  Patterns in tidal migration of fish in a Brazilian mangrove channel as revealed by a split-beam echosounder , 2004 .

[30]  W. Kimmerer,et al.  Plasticity in vertical migration by native and exotic estuarine fishes in a dynamic low‐salinity zone , 2002 .

[31]  A. B. Stasko.  Progress of migrating Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) along an estuary, observed by ultrasonic tracking , 1975 .

[32]  B. H. Holford,et al.  Movements of cod ( Gadus morhua L.) in relation to the tidal streams in the southern North Sea , 1994 .

[33]  P. Brehmer,et al.  Fisheries Acoustics: Theory and Practice, 2nd edn , 2006 .

[34]  Darren M. Parsons,et al.  Diurnal and tidal movements of snapper (Pagrus auratus, Sparidae) in an estuarine environment , 2003 .

[35]  F. Saucier,et al.  The influence of tidal streams on the pre-spawning movements of atlantic herring, Clupea harengus L., in the St Lawrence estuary , 2001 .

[36]  J. Macdonald,et al.  FISHES, FISH ASSEMBLAGES, AND THEIR SEASONAL MOVEMENTS IN THE LOWER BAY OF FUNDY AND PASSAMAQUODDY BAY, CANADA , 1984 .

[37]  F. Jones,et al.  The movements of plaice (Pleuronectes platessa L.) tracked in the open sea , 1978 .

[38]  J. Lyle,et al.  The influence of tidal cycles and freshwater inflow on the distribution and movement of an estuarine resident fish Acanthopagrus butcheri. , 2010, Journal of fish biology.

[39]  Fish Migration, Vertical* , 2001 .

[40]  Karim Erzini,et al.  Seasonal, tidal and diurnal changes in fish assemblages in the Ria Formosa lagoon (Portugal) , 2006 .

[41]  A. Hawkins,et al.  Diel interactions between sprat and mackerel in a marine lough and their effects upon acoustic measurements of fish abundance , 2009 .

[42]  J. Kelley,et al.  Controls on Surficial Materials Distribution in a Rock-Framed, Glaciated, Tidally Dominated Estuary: Cobscook Bay, Maine , 2004 .

[43]  J. Neilson,et al.  The diel-vertical distribution and characteristics of pre-spawning aggregations of pollock (Pollachius virens) as inferred from hydroacoustic observations: the implications for survey design , 2003 .

[44]  C. Finkl,et al.  Ocean energy : tide and tidal power , 2008 .

[45]  D. Woolf,et al.  Ecological considerations for tidal energy development in Scotland , 2008 .

[46]  M. Dadswell,et al.  Macrotidal estuaries: a region of collision between migratory marine animals and tidal power development , 1994 .

[47]  E. John Simmonds,et al.  Fisheries Acoustics: Theory and Practice , 2005 .

[48]  C. Clark,et al.  Diel Vertical Migrations by Juvenile Sockeye Salmon and the Antipredation Window , 1988, The American Naturalist.