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An evaluation of active acoustic methods for detection of marine mammals in the Canadian Beaufort Sea
Author(s) -
Pyć Cynthia D.,
Geoffroy Maxime,
Knudsen Frank Reier
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
marine mammal science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.723
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1748-7692
pISSN - 0824-0469
DOI - 10.1111/mms.12250
Subject(s) - beluga whale , beaufort sea , marine mammals and sonar , marine mammal , leucas , sonar , beluga , beaufort scale , fishery , cetacea , oceanography , sound (geography) , arctic , environmental science , geography , biology , geology
A commercially available fisheries sonar was mounted on an icebreaker and evaluated during an environmental baseline study in the Canadian Beaufort Sea, to determine the applicability of active acoustic monitoring ( AAM ) for marine mammal detection by comparing marine mammal observer ( MMO ) visual sightings and active acoustic detections. During 170 h of simultaneous MMO and AAM , 115 bowhead whales ( Balaena mysticetus ) and four beluga whales ( Delphinapterus leucas ) were visually sighted by MMO s, while 59 sonar detections of bowhead whales occurred using AAM . The fisheries sonar detected 92% of the cetaceans observed within 2,000 m. Additional observations of ringed seals ( Pusa hispida ) and bearded seals ( Erignathus barbatus ) were recorded both by MMO s and AAM . Comparative results indicate that a commercially available active acoustic system can consistently detect marine mammals within varying ranges dictated by water column properties. Shallow environments and strong pycnoclines currently present challenges to AAM .