In situ evaluation of European eel counts and length estimates accuracy from an acoustic camera (ARIS)

Despite the increasing use of acoustic cameras in fish ecology and fisheries studies, the quantification of biases associated with this method have received little attention. In this note, we used data collected from an ARIS acoustic camera, positioned in a channel linking a lagoon to the sea, to qu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Knowledge & Management of Aquatic Ecosystems
Main Authors: Lagarde, Raphaël, Peyre, Jason, Amilhat, Elsa, Mercader, Manon, Prellwitz, François, Simon, Gaël, Faliex, Elisabeth
Other Authors: Centre de Formation et de Recherche sur les Environnements Méditérranéens (CEFREM), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia (UPVD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: HAL CCSD 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:https://univ-perp.hal.science/hal-04199972
https://univ-perp.hal.science/hal-04199972/document
https://univ-perp.hal.science/hal-04199972/file/kmae200126.pdf
https://doi.org/10.1051/kmae/2020037
Description
Summary:Despite the increasing use of acoustic cameras in fish ecology and fisheries studies, the quantification of biases associated with this method have received little attention. In this note, we used data collected from an ARIS acoustic camera, positioned in a channel linking a lagoon to the sea, to quantify differences in European eel (Anguilla anguilla) counts and size estimates made by two experienced operators. Count estimates made from 58 videos were highly consistent between the two operators (R 2 = 0.99), although statistically different. Compared to the known sizes for the 82 eels, sizes estimated manually from video were underestimated. The resulting mean error percentages were significantly different between the two operators (À3.9% ± 8.5 (SD) and À6.6% ± 8.9). This error percentage was significantly influenced by the known size of the eels but not by the detection range. Our results highlighted the importance of taking into account the biases in counts and size estimates in fish ecology and fisheries studies based on acoustic cameras. These biases have to be quantified and, if possible, corrected using similar protocols as described in this study, when multiple operators analyse acoustic videos or when comparing the results from different studies. Malgré l'utilisation de plus en plus généralisée des caméras acoustiques pour les études d'écologie des poissons et de leurs pêcheries, les biais potentiels inhérents à cette méthode ont été très peu décrits. Dans cette note, nous avons utilisé des données issues d'une caméra acoustique ARIS, positionnée dans un chenal reliant une lagune à la mer, pour quantifier les différences d'estimations de nombre et de taille d'anguilles européennes ( Anguilla anguilla ) réalisées par deux opérateurs expérimentés. Les nombres estimés à partir de 58 vidéos étaient très similaires entre les deux opérateurs ( R 2 = 0,99) même si ces derniers étaient significativement différents. Les mesures manuelles de tailles réalisées pour 82 anguilles européennes à partir des images ...