Acoustic telemetry and fisheries management

Abstract

This paper reviews the use of acoustic telemetry as a tool for addressing issues in fisheries management, and serves as the lead to the special Feature Issue of Ecological Applications titled Acoustic Telemetry and Fisheries Management. Specifically, we provide an overview of the ways in which acoustic telemetry can be used to inform issues central to the ecology, conservation, and management of exploited and/or imperiled fish species. Despite great strides in this area in recent years, there are comparatively few examples where data have been applied directly to influence fisheries management and policy. We review the literature on this issue, identify the strengths and weaknesses of work done to date, and highlight knowledge gaps and difficulties in applying empirical fish telemetry studies to fisheries policy and practice. We then highlight the key areas of management and policy addressed, as well as the challenges that needed to be overcome to do this. We conclude with a set of recommendations about how researchers can, in consultation with stock assessment scientists and managers, formulate testable scientific questions to address and design future studies to generate data that can be used in a meaningful way by fisheries management and conservation practitioners. We also urge the involvement of relevant stakeholders (managers, fishers, conservation societies, etc.) early on in the process (i.e., in the co-creation of research projects), so that all priority questions and issues can be addressed effectively.

Effects of intracoelomic transmitter implantation on metabolic rate, swimming performance, growth and survival in juveniles of two salmonids

“…Acoustic telemetry is a powerful tool that fish biologists routinely use to study the behaviour and spatial ecology of fish in the wild and to assess rates of survival. Indeed, the use of telemetry in fish has rapidly grown over the past 10 years; it is now being applied to important problems in fisheries management such as invasive species monitoring, protected‐area design and management and the survival of fish after catch‐and‐release (Cooke et al ., ; Crossin et al ., ; Hussey et al ., ; Lennox et al ., ). Studies using acoustic telemetry generally rely on an assumption that the methods used do not have systemic effects on the behaviour or survival of the study animals in ways that would bias findings.…”

Targeting Aggregations of Telemetered Lake Trout to Increase Gillnetting Suppression Efficacy

“…; Crossin et al. ). One creative use of telemetry is to locate and target aggregations of tagged individuals, often referred to as the “Judas technique.” This removal strategy was developed for the eradication of invasive goats Capra hircus from small islands in the Pacific Ocean (Taylor and Katahira ; Campbell and Donlan ) and has been successfully applied to a variety of other terrestrial invasive species (McCann and Garcelon ; Cruz et al.…”

First Observations of Long‐Distance Migration in a Large Skate Species, the Winter Skate: Implications for Population Connectivity, Ecosystem Dynamics, and Management

“…; Crossin et al. ). Furthermore, coupling broad‐scale patterns of dispersal with biogeophysical parameters (e.g., temperature, primary production, and dissolved oxygen; Vaudo et al.…”