This repository is a clone of https://github.com/ices-eg/wg_WGFAST used to develop the How_to_contribute directory.

Working Group on Fisheries Acoustics, Science and Technology

http://www.ices.dk/community/groups/Pages/WGFAST.aspx

Contents

This repository contains two conventions developed by the WGFAST:

1. A convention to standardise metadata protocols for active acoustic systems
2. A convention for the storage of sonar data in netCDF-4 format

This repository also contains a directory of help files on how to contribute to both documents.

Overview

ICES Working Group on Fisheries Acoustics, Science and Technology (WGFAST) focuses on the development and application of science and technology used to observe the marine environment (i.e. acoustic and other sensors).

WGFAST holds state-of-the-art expertise in advanced acoustic-trawl survey techniques, and employs these techniques on a wide range of platforms including research vessels, ships of opportunity, and observatories.

The working group was created in 1984 following a recommendation from the ICES Fish Capture Committee in 1982. It has been a key group internationally in developing acoustic trawl surveys, and throughout its lifetime the focus has shifted from solving the technical challenges of reliable acoustic measurements to the use of acoustics to observe key biological parameters such as biomass indices, behavioural metrics, and acoustic species classification. The group has recently expanded its core activities to include the use of acoustics to study marine ecosystems on a wide range of observation platforms.

At approximately 5-7 year intervals, WGFAST organizes a symposium to facilitate information exchange among fisheries acousticians, physicists, engineers, biologists, and ecologists. Seven previous symposia have been held:

• 1973 and 1982 Bergen, Norway
• 1987 Seattle, USA
• 1995 Aberdeen, Scotland
• 2002 Montpellier, France
• 2008 Bergen, Norway
• 2015 Nantes, France

The published proceedings from these conferences reflect the historical development from acoustic-trawl surveys to addressing broader interests in applied aquatic observation systems.