Passive acoustic tracking of the three-dimensional movements and acoustic behaviour of toothed whales in close proximity to static nets

• Published in: Methods in Ecology and Evolution
• Main Authors: MacAulay, Jamie, Kingston, Al, Coram, Alex, Oswald, Michael, Swift, Rene, Gillespie, Doug, Northridge, Simon
• Other Authors: University of St Andrews. School of Biology, University of St Andrews. Scottish Oceans Institute, University of St Andrews. Sea Mammal Research Unit, University of St Andrews. Marine Alliance for Science & Technology Scotland, University of St Andrews. Bioacoustics group, University of St Andrews. Sound Tags Group, University of St Andrews. Coastal Resources Management Group
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2022
• Subjects: Acoustic localisation; Bycatch; Gill net; Harbour porpoise; Passive acoustic monitoring; GC Oceanography; QH301 Biology; DAS; GC; QH301; Phocoena phocoena; toothed whales
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/25092; https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13828

Funding: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, UK Government (Grant Number(s): ME6052; Grant recipient(s): Jamie Macaulay, Allen Kingston, Simon Northridge, Alexander Coram). University of St Andrews. 1. Entanglement in net fisheries (static and drift) is the largest known cause of direct anthropogenic mortality to many small cetacean species, including harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), in UK waters. Despite this, little is known about the behaviour of small cetaceans in proximity to nets. 2. We have developed a passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) system for tracking the fine-scale three-dimensional (3D) movements of echolocating cetaceans around actively fishing nets by localising their acoustic clicks. The system consists of two compact four-channel acoustic recorders with sample-synchronised sensor packages that use 3D motion tracking technology to accurately calculate log orientation, depth, water temperature and ambient light level. Two recorders were used in tandem, with each one attached to and floating above the net floatline. The system can be deployed during normal fishing operations by a trained researcher or experienced fisheries observer. Recordings were analysed in PAMGuard software and the 3D positions of echolocating animals in the vicinity of the system were calculated using an acoustic particle filter-based localisation method. 3. We present findings from four deployments in UK waters (each 1–2 days in duration) in which 12 distinct harbour porpoise encounters yielded a sufficient number of detected clicks to track their movements around the net. The tracks show a variety of behaviours, including multiple instances of animals actively foraging in close proximity to the fishing net. 4. We show that a relatively inexpensive PAM system, which is practical to deploy from active fishing vessels, is capable of providing highly detailed data on harbour porpoise behaviour around nets. As harbour porpoises are the one of the most difficult species to localise, this methodology is ...