Acoustic survey techniques are widely used to quantify abundance and distribution of a variety of pelagic fish such as herring (Clupea harengus). The information provided is becoming increasingly important for stock assessment and ecosystem studies, however, the data collected are used as relative indices rather than absolute measures, due to the uncertainty of target strength (TS) estimates. A fish’s TS is a measure of its capacity to reflect sound and, therefore, the TS value will directly influence the estimate of abundance from an acoustic survey. The TS is a stochastic variable, dependent on a range of factors such as fish size, orientation, shape, physiology, and acoustic frequency. However, estimates of mean TS, used to convert echo energy data from acoustic surveys into numbers of fish, are conveniently derived from a single metric - the fish length (L). The TS used for herring is based on TS-L relationships derived from a variety of experiments on dead and caged fish, conducted 25-30 years ago. Recently, theoretical models for fish backscatter have been proposed to provide an alternative basis for exploring fish TS. Another problem encountered during acoustic surveys is the identification of insonified organisms. Trawl samples are commonly collected for identification purposes, however, there are several selectivity issues associated with this method that may translate directly into biased acoustic abundance estimates. The use of different acoustic frequencies has been recognised as a useful tool to distinguish between different species, based on their sound reflection properties at low and high frequencies. In this study I developed theoretical models to describe the backscatter of herring at multiple frequencies. Data collected at four frequencies (18, 38, 120 and 200 kHz) during standard acoustic surveys for herring in the North Sea were examined and compared to model results. Multifrequency backscattering characteristics of herring were described and compared to those of Norway pout, a species also present in the survey area. Species discrimination was attempted based on differences in backscatter at the different frequencies. I examined swimbladder morphology data of Baltic and Atlantic herring and sprat from the Baltic Sea. Based on these data, I modelled the acoustic backscatter of both herring stocks and attempted to explain differences previously observed in empirical data. I investigated the change in swimbladder shape of herring, when exposed to increased water pressures at deeper depths, by producing true shapes of swimbladders from MRI scans of herring under pressure. The swimbladder morphology representations in 3-D were used to model the acoustic backscatter at a range of frequencies and water pressures. I developed a probabilistic TS model of herring in a Bayesian framework to account for uncertainty associated with TS. Most likely distributions of model parameters were determined by fitting the model to in situ data. The resulting probabilistic TS was used to produce distributions of absolute abundance and biomass estimates, which were compared to official results from ICES North Sea herring stock assessment. Modelled backscatter levels of herring from the Baltic Sea were on average 2.3 dB higher than those from herring living in northeast Atlantic waters. This was attributed to differences in swimbladder sizes between the two herring stocks due to the lower salinity Baltic Sea compared to Atlantic waters. Swimbladders of Baltic herring need to be bigger to achieve a certain degree of buoyancy. Morphological swimbladder dimensions of Baltic herring and sprat were found to be different. Herring had a significantly larger swimbladder height at a given length compared to sprat, resulting in a modelled TS that was on average 1.2 dB stronger. Water depth, and therefore the increase in ambient pressure, was found to have a considerable effect on the size and shape of the herring swimbladder. Modelled TS values were found to be around 3 dB weaker at a depth of 50 m compared to surface waters. At 200 m, this difference was estimated to be about 5 dB. The Bayesian model predicted mean abundances and biomass were 23 and 55% higher, respectively, than the ICES estimates. The discrepancy was linked to the depth-dependency of the TS model and the particular size-dependent bathymetric distribution of herring in the survey area.

Le long des côtes nord-ouest africaines, parmi les plus poissonneuses au monde, les ressources halieutiques sont importantes tant du point de vue socio-économique que culturel. Les petits poissons pélagiques sont suivis au niveau sous régional depuis plus de trois décennies en s’appuyant sur les méthodes hydroacoustiques d’évaluation de stocks. Ces campagnes ont ainsi permis de fournir aux gouvernants une base scientifique en matière de prise de décision à des fins d’aménagement des pêcheries pélagiques. Un défi spécifique est de connaitre leur représentativité par rapport aux stocks ciblés. Nous rassurons sur cette représentativité sur la couverture de Sardinella aurita par ces campagnes. Par contre, pour S. maderensis une partie du stock ne serait pas échantillonnée et la méthode n’est pas adaptée pour Illisha africana et Ethmalosa fimbriata. Nous reportons des déplacements vers le nord dans la répartition de S. aurita et d’autres espèces de pélagique, attribués à la redistribution de l'intensité et de la productivité des upwellings [découpé en 5 sous zones du sud Maroc au sud Sénégal], diminuant ainsi l’abondance de la sardinelle dans la région côtière intertropicale. Pour la première fois en utilisant des séries chronologiques d'observation indépendantes à la méso-échelle, nous montrons un changement vers le nord dans la distribution de S. aurita depuis 1995 et l'attribuons au fort réchauffement de l'océan dans la région. De plus les changements spatiaux observés dans la biomasse de S. aurita au cours des 20 dernières années sont du même ordre de grandeur que ceux enregistrés pour les isothermes de surface. De tels changements auront une incidence sur les considérations politiques dans la gestion de la sécurité alimentaire dans plusieurs pays d'Afrique de l'Ouest. / Along the coast of North-West Africa, among the richest waters over the word, fish supply is important at both socio-economic and cultural levels. In this region, the small pelagic fish are the most abundant marine resources and are monitored using hydroacoustic stock assessment methods since more than three decades. These surveys have allowed providing to local authorities a sound scientific basis for deciding about the management of pelagic fisheries. A specific challenge is to know the representativity of these surveys with respect to the stocks targeted. In this work, we confirm this representativity for Sardinella aurita stock while for S. maderensis, a part of the stock could have not been sampled and for pour Ilisha africana and Ethmalosa fimbriata these surveys are not the best tool. Furthermore, Northward shifts in the distribution of sardinella in the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem are recorded in this work and have been attributed to the redistribution of upwelling intensity and productivity, resulting in the abundance of sardinella decreasing in the inter-tropical coastal region. Here for the first time using independent observational time series, we report a robust northward shift in S. aurita since 1995 and attribute it to the strong ocean warming in the region. The observed spatial shifts in biomass in the last 20 years are of the same order of magnitude as those recorded for surface isotherms. Such changes will impact policy considerations in the management of food security in several West African countries and should be considered with respect to “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions”.