Kirby Drennan 



U. S. Fish & Wi 1d1 ife 



Pascagoula, Miss. 



In recent months vve have been looking at the problem of direct 

 detection, identification and quantification of pelagic fish stocl<s 

 through the use of remote sensors. Several aoproaches are being taken 

 in an effort to establish those characteristics of fish schools which 

 can be observed through the use of remote sensors and to define the 

 sensor requirements and to develop a sensor system which will enable us 

 to assess the resources of large oceanic areas. These include multi- 

 soectral photography, studies of the reflectance soectra of individual 

 fish and fish schools, measurements of the absorption spectra of 

 fish oil films, studies to determine the application of low-1 evel -1 ight 

 sensors, such as image i ntens i f iers , to detect the blol umi nescence 

 associated with most fish schools, and in October a series of tests will 

 be conducted with a pulse-gated laser system. A rather extensive 

 ohotographic nrogram v/as carried out at Pascagoula which resulted in 

 several hundred aerial photographs of fish schools of various species. 

 Black and white, color, and color infrared films with various filter 

 combinations were used in this program. An effort is now being made to 

 correlate the photographic imagery with the catch data and sonar soundings 

 obtained during the field operation. 



In September of 19(^8, the Pascagoula base and TR''' Systems, under 

 contract to Pascagoula, obtained spectral reflectance measurements of 

 fifteen schooling species In the Northern Gulf of Mexico. Observations 

 were made on single fish and fish schools Inside an impoundment using a 



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