Red snapper is an iconic species and supports one of the more economically valuable fisheries (commercial and recreational) in the gulf of mexico and south atlantic

Currently, red snapper are surveyed with stationary baited cameras, bottom trawls, and bottom longline surveys with different age classes targeted. While focusing research on the use of technological advancements to better survey red snapper and estimate density in camera surveys is an attainable goal, the putative results of developments may be transferable to other applications in existing or new surveys. Recent advancements in acoustic technologies for the identification and classification targets in water column data include the use of scientific wideband echosounders and imaging sonars. Scientific wideband echosounders, often configured with multi-frequency transducers, record echo returns with information of signal strength and insonified survey area/volume across a spectrum of frequencies. Research has shown promise that the use of multi-frequency wideband datasets can be used for echo classification of target species through comparisons with ancillary datasets. Imaging sonars are high- frequency acoustic systems that yield video-like datasets that can be analyzed to quantify abundance, determine species richness, and estimate fish sizes. Importantly, both technologies allow for estimates of survey volume, permitting calculations of fish density. However, the ground truthing of targets in both datasets is essential for echo and target classifications. Thus, video or other supplementary data collected in concert with echosounder and imaging sonar datasets are required to develop methods to identify target species, E.G, red snapper, in new acoustic datasets. This project will adapt existing camera platforms, used to survey red snapper and other fishes in the gulf of mexico and south atlantic, to include both autonomous echosounders and imaging sonars. The project seeks to develop hardware, software, and analytical capabilities to identify and classify red snapper targets and densities in echosounder and imaging sonar datasets. The anticipated outcome of this work will allow for improved survey capabilities of red snapper and other species across a suite of water conditions using mooring based echosounders and imaging sonars. Additionally, advancing echo classification of red snapper in echosounder data will facilitate an opportunity to build out vessel surveys to effectively survey red snapper across larger expanses of their distribution. This project will integrate a combination of technological approaches leveraging advancements in optics and acoustics within a moored video platform focused on estimating the abundance and size of red snapper in the gulf of mexico and south atlantic. The marine ecology and acoustics laboratory at florida international university will partner with scientists and end users at the NOAA southeast fisheries science center to develop the mooring system.