Successful Manatee Detection Demonstration

FarSounder engineers recently demonstrated the FS-3DT sonar capabilities for manatee detection to the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), at Canaveral Harbor, Florida, an area where many of these endangered animals are found. The USACE, with its responsibility for dredging operations, practices extremely strict and diligent methods for manatee detection and protection, with dedicated observers and tools in case the animals might enter the dredge working area. This series of exercises resulted in a successful proof of concept that demonstrated that manatees can be detected at ranges significant for Canaveral Harbor dredge operations.

The manatee detections are visibly distinct from such targets as fish schools and vessel wake detections, thereby enabling classification of these endangered marine mammals. In addition to the manatee detection, it was shown that the sonar can be operated in standard clam shell dredge environments, and that the general acoustic noise and the debris/bubble plumes generated by clam shell dredging did not have an adverse effect on the sonar's performance.
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