• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.53 no.2
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• pp.218-230
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• 2020

The single anatomical attribute that has the greatest influence on acoustic scattering from fish is the presence or absence of a swimbladder. This study examined the effect of removing the gas from the swimbladder on the broadband backscattering characteristics of six species of swimbladdered fish: striped beakperch Oplegnathus fasciatus, black scraper Thamnaconus modestus, dark-banded rockfish Sebastes inermis, goldeye rockfish Sebastes thompsoni, black rockfish Sebastes schlegeli and panther puffer Takifugu pardalis. Before and after removing the gas from the swimbladder, the species-specific, frequency-dependent backscattered echo signals from anaesthetized individuals of each fish species were measured at approximately 1° intervals spanning a 90° aspect angle range from -45° (head down) to +45° (head up) using a broadband echo sounder operating at 100-200 kHz. The relationship between the wavelength-normalized backscattering cross section (σ/λ²) and fish length (L/λ) was calculated for each species. The average σ/λ² value for the six fish species at a L/λ range of 19.79-25.85, with a mean of 22.89, was reduced by approximately 52.3% when the gas was removed.

• Korean Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences
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• v.52 no.6
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• pp.709-718
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• 2019

Cephalopods, such as the Japanese flying squid Todarodes pacificus and golden cuttlefish Sepia esculenta, are an important food source for all toothed whales, particularly bottlenose dolphins in costal and offshore waters around the Korean Peninsula. A controlled laboratory experiment was conducted to investigate the broadband acoustic backscattering from live individuals of these two cephalopod species using linear chirp signals (100-200 kHz). The backscattered echo signal was measured at about 1° intervals from -45° (head down) to +45° (head up) in the dorsal plane. The species-specific, frequency-dependent scattering characteristics were investigated by comparing the relationship between the wavelength-normalized backscattering cross-section (σ/λ²) and the wavelength-normalized fish length L/λ for each species. The estimated σ/λ² value for Japanese flying squid was 9.51 at an L/λ range of 12.79-30.27 (mean, 21.26). This was approximately 7% of the σ/λ² value (136.1) for golden cuttlefish at an L/λ range of 9.07-25.49 (mean, 15.77).