Development of a real-time depth monitoring system for small fishing gear using an acoustic telemetry technique

作者：Hasegawa Kohei; Miyamoto Yoshinori^*; Uchida Keiichi

来源：Fisheries Science, 2016, 82(2): 213-223.

DOI：10.1007/s12562-015-0963-7

• Acoustic telemetry
• Small fishing gear
• Fishing gear depth
• Hairtail trolling

A system for real-time monitoring the depth of small fishing gear was developed using acoustic telemetry to improve the efficiency of fishing operations. The system consisted of an acoustic transmitter (pinger), an omni-directional hydrophone with a depressor, and a receiver. Using a pinger equipped with a depth sensor, a fisherman can confirm whether the fishing gear is at the intended depth. The battery of the developed pinger can be replaced easily for repeated use. The performance of the system was evaluated in a field experiment. The accuracy of measured depth was 0.4 m and was constant even if the pinger was moving. In the experiment, the system could successfully monitor the pinger depth every several second. The system was implemented in hairtail trolling to examine its effectiveness. The implementation experiments revealed some issues with the system, such as the effect of signal reflections or the installation method of the hydrophone. However, the system could monitor the depth of the fishing gear continuously in real time and it operated successfully without any problem during the fishing operation. Application of the developed system is expected to aid fishermen in adjusting the gear depth easily and accurately.

• 出版日期2016-3