Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) have used acoustic telemetry data and anecdotal information to identify discrete areas within the lower Miramichi River that are being used by aggregations of over-wintering Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis). The discrete river reaches of the Northwest branch have been identified as important winter habitat where fish are expected to remain in large numbers until ice-out. Striped Bass numbers within the river have been increasing significantly over recent years and management of the stock by DFO requires reliable estimates of population size. Milne Technologies provided on-site support for testing the feasibility of developing an acoustic approach to assessing the aggregation size and relative abundance of over-wintering Striped Bass within the Miramichi River.

Services provided for: Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Diadromous Fish Section

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Kongsberg Simrad 120 kHz EK60 split-beam echosounder.
• Kongsberg Simrad 120 kHz EK80 split-beam echosounder.
• Sound Metrics Corp., Adaptive Resolution Imaging System (ARIS) Model 1800
• SonTek Castaway CTD

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Acoustic data collection and processing including ARIS imaging mosaics of key over-wintering habitat.
• Final report including feasibility study results and recommendations.

Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd. are expanding mining operations within the Amaruq Exploration property, located approximately 150 km north of Baker Lake, Nunavut. Pit construction and dewatering is expected to impact local fish populations and habitat. Milne Technologies staff designed and implemented hydroacoustic surveys of the impacted lake, as well as lakes both upstream and downstream of the proposed mine site, to assess the relative abundance and spatial distribution of pelagic fish during the pre-development phase. Standardized and repeated acoustic surveys are expected to provide pre-development phase benchmarks for assessing mine impacts during the period of operation and to test the rate of repopulation and reuse of existing habitat in the post-closure phase.

Services provided for: Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd.

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Kongsberg Simrad 120 kHz EK60 split-beam echosounder with mux box for vertical and sidelooking fish surveys
• Hemisphere VS110 Vector DGPS.
• SonTek Castaway CTD

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Acoustic estimates of fish density, abundance and biomass.
• Single-beam bathymetry model for unexplored lakes.

Provided multibeam sonar bathymetry data collection, post-processing, map production and reporting towards producing high resolution bathymetry models and nearshore benthic habitat mosaics for a sub-set of lakes at the Denison Mine, Wheeler River site. Several mid-sized lakes (>75 ha) were comprehensively surveyed to identify potential sites for constructing water intake and/or discharge structures to support mining operations.

Services provided for: EcoMetrix Inc. and Denison Mines

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Kongsberg-Mesotech M3 Multibeam Echosounder System (500 kHz).
• Hemisphere VS110 Vector DGPS with RTK base station correction and SBG Inertial Navigation System (INS).
• SonTek Castaway CTD

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• High-resolution maps of the lake bottom bathymetry model.
• Habitat mosaics created from horizontal sonar imaging of the lake bottom.
• Retention volume estimates generated using ArcGIS spatial modeling

Reports:

• High-resolution maps of the lake bottom bathymetry model.
• Habitat mosaics created from horizontal sonar imaging of the lake bottom.
• Retention volume estimates generated using ArcGIS spatial modeling

The Westslope Cutthroat Trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), a native species of Sawback Lake, Banff National Park, was listed by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as “Threatened” in 2006 (COSEWIC Assessment and Status Report 2006). We recognized the challenges of acoustically assessing shallow-water Cutthroat Trout populations in a small mountain lake where near isothermic conditions, vessel avoidance, reduced vertical beam sample volumes and nearshore occupancy limits the ability to detect fish using standard vertical mobile acoustic surveys. Therefore, we used a BioSonics DTX 200 kHz vertical split-beam echo-sounder combined with integrated multibeam sonar and biotelemetry methods to systematically assess the nearshore and pelagic Westslope Cutthroat Trout population in the lake.

Services provided for: Parks Canada, Banff National Park

Field technology utilized for this project:

• BioSonics DTX split-beam echosounder (200 kHz)
• Integrated Sonar and Biotelemetry System (Kongsberg M3 and Tag Activator)
• SonTek Castaway CTD

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Acoustic estimates of pelagic fish abundance and biomass.
• High resolution multibeam bathymetry of Sawback Lake.
• Analysis of the diel inshore/offshore movement of Cutthroat Trout.

Reports:

• Parks Canada. 2019. 2018 Sawback Lake Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies. 77 pgs.

The purpose of this project was to provide hydroacoustic data processing and fisheries assessment services in support of the “Western Lake Ontario Fisheries Acoustic Survey” program. The program was a multi-year study (2006, 2009, 2010, 2013 and 2016 to 2018) aimed at assessing changes in the spatial distribution and density of fish in response to a suite of environmental variables (water temperature, dissolved oxygen, seiche events etc.)

Services provided for: GLLFS, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Field technology utilized for this project:

• BioSonics DTX split-beam echosounder (120 kHz, 200 kHz, and 410 kHz).
• Fish sampling equipment including suspended gill nets and pelagic trawls.

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Acoustic estimates of pelagic fish abundance and biomass.
• Fish schooling behaviour analysis in relation to turbidity
• Analysis of the spatial distribution of pelagic fish in relation dissolved oxygen.

Reports:

DFO GLLFAS. 2009. 2006 Hamilton Harbour Offshore Acoustic Surveys, Appendix I: Summary of Results. PowerPoint presentation. Prepared by Milne Technologies. 66 slides.

DFO GLLFAS. 2010. 2009 Toronto Harbour Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies. 57 pgs.

DFO GLLFAS. 2011. 2010 Toronto & Bronte Harbour Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies. 69 pgs.

DFO GLLFAS. 2012. 2011 Bay of Quinte at Conway Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies.

DFO GLLFAS. 2012. 2006-2011 Lake Ontario Nearshore Acoustic Data Review, LO-ERI: Depth Distribution of Fish Density and Biomass. Report prepared by Milne Technologies. 18 pgs.

DFO GLLFAS. 2017. 2016 Hamilton and Toronto Harbour Trawling and Acoustic Surveys: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies. 127 pgs.

DFO GLLFAS. 2019. 2018 Lake Ontario Acoustic Surveys: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies. 63 pgs.

The Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry (OMNRF) Aquatic Research & Development Section (ARDS) completed hydroacoustic surveys of Lake Simcoe to test the feasibility of developing acoustic technology into a long-term pelagic fish population monitoring and assessment program.

The objectives of the surveys were to;

1. Test the feasibility and value of using hydroacoustic technology as a tool to assess pelagic fish populations in Lake Simcoe, and
2. calculate estimates of pelagic fish density and quantify the sampling variability.

Defining the expected survey variability is critical for estimating the survey effort required to generate reliable “whole-lake” fish density estimates from future surveys.

Services provided for: ARDS, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry

Field technology utilized for this project:

• BioSonics DTX split-beam echosounder (70 kHz)
• Simrad EK60 Multi-frequency Echosounder System (38 kHz, 120 kHz, 333 kHz)
• Fish sampling equipment including suspended gill nets and pelagic trawls

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Acoustic estimates of pelagic fish abundance and biomass with emphasis on Cisco.
• Analysis of the variability in the spatial distribution of pelagic fish between survey replicates.

Reports:

OMNRF. 2012. 2011 Lake Simcoe Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies.

OMNRF. 2013. 2012 Lake Simcoe Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies.

OMNRF. 2014. 2013 Lake Simcoe Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies.

OMNRF. 2015. 2014 Lake Simcoe Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies.

OMNRF. 2016. 2015 Lake Simcoe Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies.

OMNRF. 2017. 2016 Lake Simcoe Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Report prepared by Milne Technologies.

In 2002, 2005, 2010, 2013, 2016 and 2021 (tentatively) acoustic surveys of Wabush Lake were completed to assess the density and abundance of fish within the lake. Under the “Wabush Lake Fish Habitat Compensation Agreement Monitoring Program”, the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC) is required to monitor the relative abundance of four indicator fish species using an integrated hydroacoustic program that includes a biological sampling component (i.e. gill netting and pelagic trawling).

Services provided for: EcoMetrix Inc. (2013), Sikumiut Environmental Management Ltd. (2016) and Iron Ore Company of Canada

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Simrad EK60 120 kHz Echosounder System (vertical and horizontal surveys)
• Hemisphere VS110 Vector DGPS.
• Fish sampling equipment including suspended gill nets and pelagic trawls

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Size stratified acoustic estimates of pelagic fish abundance and biomass.
• Analysis of the spatial distribution of pelagic fish as it relates to the IOC tailings area.

Reports:

Milne, S.W. 2014. 2013 Wabush Lake Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Prepared for EcoMetrix Inc., Mississauga, ON. 101 pages + app.

Milne, S.W. 2017. 2016 Wabush Lake Hydroacoustic Survey Report: Methodology and Summary of Results. Prepared for Sikumiut Environmental Management Ltd., St. John’s, NL. 117 pages + app.

This was a multi-year project (2013-2017) with the aim of developing size-spectrum curves using acoustic estimates of particle size and abundance to provide a measure of aquatic ecosystem “health” (Project 3.3). This project also saw the development of integrated multibeam sonar and biotelemetry tools used for “tracking” tagged fish with a multibeam echosounder system.

Services provided for: University of Toronto and funded by Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC)

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Simrad EK60 120 kHz Echosounder System (vertical and horizontal surveys)
• Hemisphere VS110 Vector DGPS.
• Kongsberg-Mesotech M3 Multibeam Echosounder System (500 kHz).
• Kongsberg-Mesotech M3 Tag Activator system.
• Sonotronics Transponder (200/500 kHz) Fish Tags
• Fish and zooplankton sampling equipment.

Products and services delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Size stratified acoustic estimates of pelagic fish abundance and biomass.
• Analysis of the spatial distribution of Lake Trout and Common White Sucker
• Development of the "Integrated Sonar and Biotelemetry" application and methodology
• Graduate student and ECR guidance and support.

In accordance with Clean Water Act § 316(b), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issues regulations on the design and operation of cooling water intake structures (CWISs) in order to minimize adverse impacts on fish and other aquatic organisms. Rules introduced in 2014 requires the location, design, construction, and capacity of existing CWISs reflect the Best Technology Available (BTA) for minimizing adverse environmental impact associated with impingement and entrainment of fish through industrial sector cooling systems.

Eastman Chemical Company in Kingsport, Tennessee, draws water from three cooling water intake structure facilities within the South Fork Holston River. These existing CWISs are subject to Clean Water Act § 316(b) requirements and therefore methods for determining their potential effects (if any) on fish populations were developed and implemented.

Acoustic imaging technologies were accepted and implemented as a suitable non-destructive fisheries assessment tool for continuously monitoring and describing the relative fish abundance within the immediate vicinity of the CWISs and to also describe the general activity and behavioral response of fish to flow regimes adjacent to the CWISs. Alternative available acoustic methods were also used to describe the physical habitat (i.e. bathymetry, substrate and flow velocity) within the immediate vicinity of the CWISs.

Services provided for: Arcadis Canada, Inc. and Eastman Chemical Company

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Kongsberg-Mesotech M3 Multibeam Echosounder System (500 kHz).
• Hemisphere VS110 Vector DGPS with RTK base station correction and SBG Inertial Navigation System (INS).
• Sound Metrics Corp., Adaptive Resolution Imaging System (ARIS) Model 1800
• Hach Model FH950.1 electro-magnetic velocity meter
• SonTek Castaway CTD

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Size stratified acoustic estimates of relative fish density and behaviour within the vicinity of 3 cooling water intake structures.
• Spatial (vertical and horizontal) analyses of river flow velocity and vectors.
• Multibeam sonar bathymetry/submerged macrophyte maps and bottom habitat mosaics.

Reports:

Milne, S.W. 2016. 2016 Eastman Chemical Cooling Water Intake Structures Acoustic Monitoring Project (EPA 316B): Methodology and Summary of Results. Prepared for Arcadis Canada, Inc., Richmond Hill, ON. 155 pages + app.

The USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC) has implemented an experimental fish passage detection and enumeration methodology using a multi-beam Dual Frequency IDentification SONar (DIDSON) and Adaptive Resolution Imaging Sonar (ARIS) system. The sonar systems were deployed in the vicinity of a wetland water control structure that drains into Crane Creek, a tributary of Lake Erie, located within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Ottawa National Wildlife Refuge. The objective of this work was to assess the activity and abundance of fishes that use the corridor between the riverine and wetland habitats.

From 2011 through 2014 a DIDSON or ARIS imaging system was installed in front of the Pool 2B fish passage structure. Continuous acoustic monitoring occurred over a few days, on a fortnightly schedule, during the spring, summer and fall of each year. From this effort, many TB’s of DIDSON/ARIS echogram data were recorded and an efficient data processing solution was required to extract meaningful ecological information for further analyses. In the past, USGS had relied on staff to manually work through all or a sub-sample of the echograms to provide a visual count of fish and to assess fish activity. This method is highly labour intensive and results in fish count estimates and assessments that may vary significantly between individual observers.

In 2013 and 2016, Milne Technologies successfully developed an automated data processing and fish detection software application that provided USGS the ability to generate timely, cost-effective and reproducible relative fish flux estimates from the 2011-2014 ARIS and DIDSON data.

Services provided for: USGS Great Lakes Science Center (GLSC)

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Sound Metrics Corp., Dual Frequency IDentification SONar (DIDSON) Model SR
• Sound Metrics Corp., Adaptive Resolution Imaging System (ARIS) Model 1800

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• • User-friendly GUI and software application to work seamlessly with Echoview hydroacoustic processing software to automate ARIS and DIDSON data processing.
• Manuscript co-authorship and editing.

Reports:

Eggleston, M.R. S.W. Milne, M. Ramsay and K.P. Kowalski. 2020. Improved Fish Counting Method Accurately Quantifies High‐Density Fish Movement in Dual‐Frequency Identification Sonar Data Files from a Coastal Wetland Environment. North American Journal of Fisheries Management. 40(4):883-892 Link.

As part of a larger sewage treatment system project, Terrapin Water in association with Milne Technologies carried out three hydroacoustic sonar sludge mapping surveys (2014,2015 and 2019( to produce sludge maps and sludge volume estimates for both of the two sewage treatment lagoons located at 10, Stratford Road, Stratford Prince Edward Island. One of the primary goals of the project was to assess the performance of the newly installed “Blue Frog System” as a means of digesting sewage sludge within the lagoons. The report summarizes the results of this project.

The high-resolution sludge maps revealed the formation of a pit or depression within the sludge layer near the effluent stand-pipe within Cell 2. Diver inspection of the stand-pipe showed that a 6 cm crack had formed in the pipe close to the lagoon liner and needed immediate repair. The crack was allowing sludge and solids to leave the lagoon before full biological decomposition was completed. The operator was not aware of the problem previous to the multibeam sludge mapping and was appreciative that we identified the damaged asset.

Services provided for: Terrapin Water and Town of Stratford

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Kongsberg-Mesotech M3 Multibeam Echosounder System (500 kHz).
• Hemisphere VS110 Vector DGPS with RTK base station correction and SBG Inertial Navigation System (INS).

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• High-resolution maps of the sludge layer within each lagoon.
• Estimates of sludge volume and water retention volumes.
• Identification and geo-referenced damaged lagoon assets

Reports:

TERRAPIN WATER and MILNE TECHNOLOGIES. 2014, 2015 &2019 Stratford Sewage Lagoon Sludge Mapping. Prepared for the Town of Stratford, PEI.

Little Bear Creek (LBC) is a small tributary that flows into the St. Clair River estuary approximately 10 km south of the town of Wallaceburg, Ontario. The lower reaches of LBC have been identified as an area where dredging and channel maintenance may be required to increase drainage and minimize the risk of upstream flooding.

The proposed dredging operation within LBC, and its potential impact on fish and fish habitat, is subject to approval by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). As a result, DFO requires further knowledge about the pre-dredge status of the drainage channel including bathymetry, existing fish habitat and hydrology, to which the post-redging condition of LBC can be compared.

Milne Technologies provided multibeam bathymetry data collection and map production services in support of the Little Bear Creek fish habitat project.

Services provided for: GLLFAS, Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Field technology utilized for this project:

• Kongsberg-Mesotech M3 Multibeam Echosounder System (500 kHz).
• Hemisphere VS110 Vector DGPS with RTK base station correction and SBG Inertial Navigation System (INS).

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• High-resolution maps for the lower 11 km segment of Little Bear Creek.
• ArcGIS geodatabase
• Presentation of the survey results to the executive research board.

Reports:

Milne, S.W. 2015. 2015 Little Bear Creek multibeam bathymetry survey : field notes and data processing methodology. Prepared for Great Lakes Laboratory for Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, DFO.

The Bruce Nuclear Generating Station (BNGS) uses lake-water cooling to remove excess heat generated during electricity production. Lake water cooling involves pumping large volumes of water into the plant through an intake tunnel located at the bottom of Lake Huron. Before being used to cool the steam in each condenser of the four units (at Bruce A and Bruce B), the water is held within small forebays adjacent to the pump-house buildings.

In Ontario, anyone who takes more than 50,000 litres of water a day from a lake, river, stream or groundwater source, must obtain a Permit to Take Water (PTTW) from the Ontario Ministry of Environment. Bruce Power has a PTTW for electricity production operations, but regular estimates of water intake are required to ensure compliance. Acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) technology WAS used to provide flow volume by measuring flow velocity across the intake channel at contiguous depth bins throughout the water column.

Services provided for: Kinectrics Ltd. and Bruce Power

Field technology utilized for this project:

• SonTek M9 RiverSurveyor Mobile ADCP
• Hemisphere VS1000 and S321+ RTK GNSS

Products delivered by Milne Technologies:

• Reliable and reproducible estimates of Cooling-water Intake for PTTW.
• Depth stratified maps of current speed and direction within the forebay.
• Delineate areas of potential mussel shell deposition for dredge maintenance ops.

Reports:

Kinectrics Ltd. & MILNE TECHNOLOGIES. 2014. 2016, 2019 & 2020 Bruce A and Bruce B ADCP Survey Reports. Prepared for Bruce Power.

Download our case study featuring the Kongsberg-Mesotech M3 Multibeam Echosounder System.