Estimation of the capture efficiency and abundance of Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) from paired photographic–dredge tows using hierarchical models

The efficiency of survey gear is an important measure that can be used to estimate the absolute scale of populations in assessment models. We develop a general hierarchical model for estimating the efficiency of a New Bedford-style sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) survey dredge from paired dre...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of fisheries and aquatic sciences 2019-06, Vol.76 (6), p.847-855
Main Authors: Miller, Timothy J, Hart, Deborah R, Hopkins, Karen, Vine, Norman H, Taylor, Richard, York, Amber D, Gallager, Scott M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Abundance
Animal populations
Bottom trawling
Bottom trawls
Distribution
Dredging
Efficiency
Estimates
Evaluation
Fins
Fish
Fishing gear
Forecasting
Hierarchies
Marine
Methods
Modelling
Mollusks
Placopecten magellanicus
Polls & surveys
Population characteristics
Population density
Populations
Scallop fisheries
Scallops
Soil properties
Stock assessment (Wildlife management)
Studies
Substrata
Substrates
Underwater cameras
Yield forecasting
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Summary:The efficiency of survey gear is an important measure that can be used to estimate the absolute scale of populations in assessment models. We develop a general hierarchical model for estimating the efficiency of a New Bedford-style sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) survey dredge from paired dredge and Habcam camera system tows. Habcam data for each tow consist of multiple images that give information on within-tow variability of scallop density. The model accounts for these multiple observations as well as the possibility of differences between the true densities in dredge and Habcam pairs due to the pairs not covering exactly the same ground. We fit several models with alternative assumptions to observations on Atlantic sea scallops and compare the relative performance using Akaike’s information criterion. The best performing model estimated higher dredge efficiency on fine substrates than on coarse ones (approximately 0.40 and 0.27, respectively). Our results inform the scale of annual abundance estimates from dredge surveys and reduce uncertainty in the sea scallop stock assessments.
ISSN:0706-652X
1205-7533
DOI:10.1139/cjfas-2018-0024