Deadline for written questions: 10.28.2022
Deadline for submission of proposals: 11.22.2022
The Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC), in cooperation with the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), will be issuing a $96,653 grant to fund a project that utilizes remote sensing to improve monitoring of Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) stocks along the California coast.
Since 2012, the CDFW has conducted the aerial California CPS Survey to document Pacific Sardine and Northern Anchovy in the nearshore waters of the Southern California Bight. This survey expanded to cover nearshore waters off Northern California beginning in summer of 2017. Surveys currently utilize trained visual observers to estimate fish biomass, and there is growing interest to digitize observations. Advances in photogrammetric cameras, sensors, and computer software allow for the potential to develop and apply a more rigorous and repeatable biomass estimate calculation to ensure standardization of long-term datasets. The goal of this project is to explore alternative data acquisition and processing methods using aerial systems (crewed or uncrewed) to collect imagery and process data to inform aerial
survey methodology. Survey data support CPS stock assessments and management.
Posted: 10.18.2022