Proposals for the collection of multifrequency acoustic data

Acoustic surveys are used to estimate the abundance and distribution of many fish species, and have been based traditionally on data collected at a single acoustic frequency. Although it has been known for some time that the use of additional frequencies can provide information on the nature of the acoustic target, the knowledge and technology required to combine the so-called multifrequency data in an appropriate manner has been limited. The use of several transducers of different frequencies is now common on board research vessels and fishing vessels, so multifrequency data are often collected. In order for these data to be combined appropriately, their physical and spatial characteristics from each frequency should be as similar as possible. We detail the requirements deemed necessary to collect multifrequency data in an appropriate manner. They can be stringent and may not always be achievable, so we also consider the consequences of combining acoustic data originating in transducers with varying degrees of spatial separation and with different beam widths.