Use of Drones in Fishery Science

TLDR

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones, have rapidly expanded across scientific fields, yet fisheries research has lagged behind, though UAS promise finer‑scale, cost‑effective spatial and temporal data akin to past satellite and aircraft remote sensing advances. The authors aim to provide a practical “how‑to” guide for fisheries scientists wishing to adopt UAS technology. They outline the full workflow—from selecting platforms and sensors to data acquisition and analysis—while summarizing current UAS applications in fisheries and suggesting future research directions.

Abstract

Abstract The use of unmanned aircraft systems ( UAS s), commonly referred to as drones, has rapidly expanded across many scientific disciplines. Like other fields, fisheries research would benefit significantly from broader use of this emerging technology but has lagged behind other disciplines. Like the implementation of satellite and aircraft‐based remote sensing technology in previous decades brought a greater understanding of large‐scale spatial patterns and processes, UAS technology has the potential to put those tools in the hands of individual researchers, allowing implementation at finer spatial and temporal scales for a fraction of the cost. Our goal is to provide a “how‐to” for fisheries researchers interested in using UAS technology. We outline the necessary steps for any UAS project from choosing the appropriate platform and sensors to data acquisition and analysis. We also present the current ways in which UAS s are being used in a fisheries research context as well as potential future research directions.