Acoustical sensing and assessment of bristol bay sockeye salmon

A system of bottom-anchored upward-locking acoustic sensors is currently under joint development by the Fisheries Research Institute and the Applied Physics Laboratory, both of the University of Washington. The sensors are to be deployed in the Port Moller area of Bristol Bay to provide population data on the annual sockeye salmon run some 4 to 8 days prior to the entry of the fish into the various commercial fishery districts. This system is designed to augment the gill net test fishing currently carried out and to overcome many of the shortcomings of gill-netting such as size selectivity, variable efficiency and the inability to fish in rough weather. Sampling statistics indicate that ten such sensors in a randomized design will provide sufficient coverage. A mathematical formulation utilizing statistical decision theory and dynamic programming has been developed to characterize the optimum experimental design as well as the optimum fishery management policies. The need for near real time data over large distances suggested the use of a satellite as a data transmission link. This would permit the use of remote large-scale computing facilities in the processing of the population data.