Guidelines for acoustic surveys in the northwest African region

This manual provides a guide to the survey routines that should be followed during hydro-acoustic fish abundance surveys in the northwest African region for a harmonised coverage. The guidelines could, however, also be useful for other regions with similar environmental characteristics and marine resources. The manual covers topics such as survey design, calibration of hydroacoustic equipment, instrument settings, echo identification, biomass estimation, statistical analysis, standard format for data storage, environmental sampling and presentation of survey results.