AN ACOUSTIC STUDY OF SHRIMP (PANDALUS-MONTAGUI) DISTRIBUTION NEAR RESOLUTION ISLAND (EASTERN HUDSON STRAIT)

Echo integration, a multistage plankton sampler (BIONESS), and a bottom trawl were used to examine the horizontal and vertical distribution of shrimp (Pandalus montagui) near Resolution Island in eastern Hudson Strait. Shrimp were concentrated in two locations within the study area and they maintained this pattern of horizontal distribution for at least 7 d. Acoustic observations revealed a scale of horizontal patchiness that was obscured by the "homogenization effect" of sampling by bottom trawl and plankton net. The shrimp underwent a nocturnal vertical migration with other zooplankton to > 200 m from the bottom and a subsequent downward migration during early daylight hours. This diel migration resulted in reduced availability of shrimp to the bottom trawl at night. Timing of the migrations varied, possibly as a result of interaction with oceanographic processes.