Analysis of the ME70 multibeam echosounder data in echoview -current capabilityand future directions

Abstract

The general features of the multibeam echosounder (Simrad, ME70) are covered and trends in recent research on using the sonar systems are stated. Echoviews current capability for analyzing ME70 data is precisely described in two categories: split beam data analysis and multibeam data analysis. In particular, the visualization and analysis of school in three dimensions and school tracking are illustrated using fish school echoes observed in Bering Sea during the summer of 2008 and 2009. Future software developments in Echoview may include: high resolution bathymetric algorithms to detect reliable sea bottom, advanced school detection in three dimensions even for ambiguous shapes and its editing tool, and incident-angle-TS for supporting abundance estimation.