On the depth dependence of fish target strength
Original version
This report is not to be cited without prior reference to the authorsAbstract
Data on the depth dependence of the target strength of live kokanee
(Oncorhynchus nerka), a physostome, at 50 kHz (Mukai, T., and Iida, K.,
ICES J. mar. Sci., 53: 245-248 (1996)) have been reexamined. In the cited
study, data collected over a range of depths on a total of 50 tethered,
anesthetized specimens were averaged at each depth, mainly at 5, 10, 20,
and 40 m, then fit with a model consistent with Boyle's law. Here the data
are analyzed for each individual fish, and a variety of models are used to
fit the respective data set. The goodness of fit is gauged by the standard
error of the regression. The applicability of Boyle's law, or that giving
the inverse pressure-volume relationship of a constant mass of gas under
isothermal conditions, is examined in the light of the several fits and is
seen to be confirmed. In a speculative application, the depth dependence
for kokanee is assumed also to describe that for herring. Incorporation of
this into the standard target strength equation for Norwegian
spring-spawning herring yields the following expression: TS=20 log l - 67.3
-6.7 log (1+z/10), where TS is the target strength in decibels, 2 is the
mean fish length in centimeters, and z is the depth in meters.