Measurement of single-fish target strength in the South China Sea

We measured the target strength (TS) of three commercial fish species: whitespotted spinefoot (Siganus canaliculatus), black porgy (Acanthopagrus schlegelii), and creek red bream (Lutjanus argentimaculatus), in the South China Sea. The TS of caged or tethered fish (n=76 total) was measured using a Simrad EY60 portable scientific echosounder at 120 kHz. We evaluated the relationship between TS and total length (TL, cm) for the three species. This is the first attempt to use split-beam acoustics to measure single-fish TS in the South China Sea by Chinese researchers. Our results will improve the accuracy and precision of acoustic abundance estimates of commercially important species and further the development of underwater acoustic survey techniques in fisheries in the South China Sea.