Assessment of Chinook Salmon residency in the Discovery Island area and measurement of acoustic target strength of wild juvenile salmon to inform their migration dynamics and interactions with aquaculture facilities

Description

This project will assess the migration of juvenile wild salmon and potential interactions of wild and farmed fish in the Discovery Islands area using acoustic (sound-based) images from sonar and echosounders. We will analyze existing and new acoustic data to determine whether Chinook Salmon are resident in the area.

Project objectives:

1. To extend acoustic monitoring of wild juvenile salmon in Okisollo Channel (Discovery Islands) close to aquaculture facilities.
   
2. To combine acoustic measurements from single-beam inverted echosounders and DIDSON imaging sonar with those from new split-beam echosounders. This would enable us to use previous and current acoustic measurements of juvenile salmon migration to estimate various parameters, including fish number and biomass.

Program Name

Aquaculture Collaborative Research and Development Program (ACRDP)

Year(s)

2020-2021

Principal investigator

Stéphane Gauthier, Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Institute of Ocean Sciences, Pacific Region

Email: stephane.gauthier@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Team member(s)

Benjamin Snow, Research Biologist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Biological Station, Pacific Region

Stewart Johnson, Senior Research Scientist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Biological Station, Pacific Region

Chrys Neville, Research Biologist, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Biological Station, Pacific Region

Collaborator(s)

Kathleen Frisch, Fish Health Director, Cermaq Canada Ltd.

Greg Gibson, Environmental Assessment Biologist, Mowi Canada West