SciFish
2000
Broadband Sonar Fish Identification
System
Product Description
Unlike current sonar systems that
utilize only one or two frequencies for detecting fish (narrowband), the
SciFish 2000 uses a broad range of frequencies (broadband). By expanding
to broadband, SciFish 2000 can incorporate all of the functions
of a narrowband system and it adds important new capabilities, including:
-
Bottom Fish Detection
-
Fish Identification
-
Fish Length Estimation
-
Bottom Type Classification
SciFish received its first funding for
the development of this product in 1994. From the start, SciFish 2000 has
yielded outstanding results in all of our experiments. SciFish 2000 has
been tested in the Great Lakes five times with the USGS/BRD, in the Bering
Sea with NMFS/AFSC, and it has been in the Prince William Sound on five
occasions with a commercial fisherman. In all instances, SciFish 2000 has
demonstrated better than 75% correct species identification with the system
on over 20 species of fish. In some instances the identification performance
exceeds 95% correct.
Further experiments have shown that
SciFish 2000 can also discriminate size with better than 80% accuracy and
it provides superior discrimination of targets at or near the bottom. SciFish
holds the patent for the identification of aquatic life using broadband
sonar (Patent No. 5,377,163).
Product Configuration
The product is designed in three
pieces: software for the host PC, sonar control and echo processor, and
the transceiver. The data can also be stored and displayed within SciFIsh's
FishTrek Pro fisheries mapping and planning software.
Target Applications
SciFish 2000 can be applied in three
sectors of the fishing industry:
-
Commercial Fisheries. Bottomfish
detection and identification, size estimation, and bottom-type identification
will provide single season ROI's on the product cost.
-
Fisheries Management. Essential
Fish Habitat, fish stock assessment, and improved fish detection will provide
fisheries managers with new tools for resource assessment.
-
Fisheries Science. The system
will allow fisheries biologists to collect and process their own data,
opening up a worldwide market opportunity.