A Novel Technique to Detect Epipelagic Fish Populations and Map their Habitat

The ultimate goal of this project is to substantially improve our understanding of the relationship between ecologically important key fish species e.g. sardine and albacore and the physical environment by collecting synoptic measurements with improved spatial and temporal resolution of observations. The overall objective of this work is to develop a new technique to detect epipelagic fishes and map their habitat and to test this technique in the EEZ of Oregon and Washington. The secondary objective is the analyze the array of spatial and temporal data collected to better understand the connection and affects of habitat and fish behavior on fish detection and distribution. The technique combines data from satellites, aircraft, ships, and moorings. Each platform covers a unique set of spatial and temporal scales, and each instrument has its own advantages and disadvantages. A technique combining data from multiple platforms can be much more powerful than any one alone.