Matecho: An Open-Source Tool for Processing Fisheries Acoustics Data

Matecho is an automated processing method to extract information and perform echo-integration and fish shoal extraction from various scientific echo-sounder sources providing digital acoustic data on fisheries and aquatic ecosystem. The open-source initiative helps foster collaboration and technological transfer. Matecho supports various formats, such as the international standard format for the exchange of fisheries acoustics raw and edited data. The procedure allows the semiautomatic cleaning of echogram data and the application of automatic data filters, i.e., transient noise, attenuated signal and impulsive noise removal and background noise reduction. Echo-integration processing is executed for each depth layer and integrates their characteristics per elementary sampling unit. Sound scattered layers are automatically detected by segmentation from the echo-integrated echogram, and shoals are extracted according to an iterative process of aggregation of filtered echogram echoes that allows, in both cases, the calculation of the ad hoc parameters describing morphological, spatial location and acoustic characteristics of sound scattered layers and shoals. Matecho is open-source software for researchers and provides end users with a user-friendly, free executable program.