Acoustical Detection of High-Density Krill Demersal Layers in the Submarine Canyons off Georges Bank

Abstract

High-density demersal layers of krill have been detected in the submarine canyons off Georges Bank by means of a high-frequency, dual-beam bioacoustical technique. Krill densities in these demersal layers were observed to be two to three orders of magnitude greater than the highest densities observed in water-column scattering layers. Such abundances may help explain the unusually high squid and demersal fish production estimates attributed to the Georges Bank ecosystem.