Figure 4 and 5 illustrates the distribution of all fish as observed with the acoustic integration system. This will mainly show the pelagic species, but some demersal fish which lifts off the bottom, especially at night will also be included. The units of acoustic reflection is 0.1 × m²/nm² reflecting surface and represents an indicator of density of pelagic fish. An arbitrary scale has been used to illustrate different levels of concentration. The acoustic data will later be used for biomass estimates.
Over most of the north and east coast shelf area only very scattered recordings were made indicating a general low level of pelagic fish density. They usually consisted of traces of small schools or single fish not far off the bottom. Identification with bottom trawl showed that off the northern coast the recordings should be attributed to Carangids and sardines, whereas the recordings south of the Manzanilla Bank also included Scombrids and Barracuda. A pelagic haul made east of Galeota Point consisted of anchovies mainly (St.no.428). Fish aggregations were recorded southeast of Galeota Point and in the joint research area (fig.5) and identified as clupeids, anchovies and Spanish mackerel (St.no.434).
