Prince William Sound Ocean Tracking Network - Alaska Ocean Observing System
Original (non-English) name
Acronym
Prince William Sound Ocean Tracking Network - AOOS
Citation
Abstract
The Prince William Sound Science Center (PWSSC), with AOOS as a partner, has been tracking fish movements in Prince William Sound for more than 10 years using underwater acoustic receivers, part of the Ocean Tracking Network. Over the years, Pacific herring, copper rockfish, lingcod, Pacific cod, and most recently, walleye pollock have been surgically implanted with acoustic tags by Science Center staff.
When an acoustic-tagged fish travels within a receiver’s range, the receiver detects the pulses from the transmitter, and records the date, time, and fish id number. Depending on the tag, other data including swimming depth and temperature can also be recorded. The Science Center periodically uploads the data using a surface modem that communicates with the receiver or by retrieving the receiver.
Currently there are ~65 acoustic receivers deployed in the Sound. Most of these receivers are located in “curtains” that span the major entrances between the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound. These include Hinchinbrook Entrance, southern Montague Straight and the four Southwest Passages (Bainbridge, Prince of Wales, Elrington, and LaTouche). These hydrophone arrays are the only series of arrays in Alaska and are providing us with new information on fish species ranging from salmon sharks to Pacific herring.