The most important pelagic artisanal fishery of the Colombian Caribbean Sea is the Atlantic thread herring (Opisthonema oglinum) and the associated species scaled herring (Harengula jaguana), round sardinella (Sardinella aurita), and scad (Decapterus punctatus). The largest aggregations of these small pelagics were found in the La Guajira area, where the local oceanography is modulated by seasonal upwelling intensity. We analysed the associations between the distribution of these small pelagic fishes and the environmental variables. A cumulative frequency method and a Monte Carlo randomization were used to detect associations between fish density and environmental variables. The adults of Atlantic thread herring were found in the upwelling area of La Guajira Peninsula and were associated to waters with temperature and salinity values higher than 25.5 and 36.7 °C, respectively. During December, a nursery area was found in the southern portion of the study area and the juveniles of Atlantic thread herring showed preference for temperatures higher than 27.4 °C. Scaled herring was found to be associated with temperatures (>25.7 °C) and salinities (>36.8). Scad and round sardinella were also associated to temperatures and salinities higher than 25 and 36.6 °C. Our results suggest that the dynamics of the upwelling area may influence the spatial distribution and abundance of small pelagics in the Colombian Caribbean Sea.

When measuring the flux of migrating salmon in rivers there are often multiple fish in the beam simultaneously. To obtain accurate measurements of flux, an understanding of the effects of multiple targets is required. Multiple targets in various configurations were passed through a horizontally-oriented 4° × 10° beam from a split-beam echo sounder. The effects on target strength, detection probability, spatial and temporal patterns of echoes, and measurement of target position are presented. When multiple targets were in the beam at the same range, the target strength was positively biased, whereas, when they were in-line at different ranges, the target strength and detection probability were negatively biased for the shadowed targets. Targets at the same range, but separated in the vertical or horizontal direction, produced characteristic patterns in the X vs. ping and Y vs. X plots. Similar patterns were found in routine observations of migrating salmon, allowing the identification of some multiple-target events. Identification of these events can aid in the correct interpretation of migrating fish data for flux measurement.

Experiments conducted at the Qualark Creek acoustic site on the Fraser River have shown unexpected systematic errors in the split-beam angle measurement. A tethered dead salmon with a target strength of approximately –30 dB was used as a target at 3.7 m range. A signal-to-noise ratio of ~12 dB was observed. This target strength and signal-to-noise ratio are typical in some rivers where migrating adult salmon are observed. The target's location was measured both from the frame used to position the target in the beam and from the acoustic data. Comparison of these two sets of measurements demonstrated a bias that increased with the target's distance off the beam axis. The acoustically measured target locations were closer to the beam axis than the actual locations. Each acoustic estimate represented the mean location obtained after 3 000 pings. Results from a simulation model that includes the effects of random noise on the split-beam angle measurement reproduce the systematic underestimate of these angles. This bias increases rapidly with increasing off-axis target location and decreasing signal-to-noise ratio. The bias has been observed for circular and elliptical beams and the model accurately predicts the magnitude and direction of the systematic part of the angle measurement error in both cases. Results for a circular transducer are used here to illustrate the situation. The presence of this bias can affect measurements of fish density and migration speed. At the low signal-to-noise ratios often obtained in riverine environments, those who use a split-beam system for observation or estimation of fish should be aware of this phenomenon.

The application of fisheries acoustics in shallow waters opens new fields of observation and allows new methods for abundance estimates. In this paper we deal with echocounting of migrating fish crossing the Beaucaire-Vallabrègues lock, the first obstacle encountered on the Rhône, using a SIMRAD EY500 split-beam sounder, 70 kHz frequency. Two transducers sampled a section of water and evaluated approximately 35% of the lock section, based on a calibration sphere. The number of fish crossing the lock was calculated for each fish lock. Crossing data for the fish were recorded (dates, position, exit time). The present analysis did not allow the identification of the two major species that cross the dam: shad (Alosa fallax) and mullet (Mugil cephalus). The number of fish counted was positively correlated with the catches per unit effort (CPUE) by recreating fishermen below the dam and with increasing water temperature.