Report of the ICES Study Group on Acoustic Seabed Classification (SGASC)

The Study Group on Acoustic Seabed Classification (SGASC) met at the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, Hobart, Tasmania from 31 March to 2 April 2006. John Anderson (Canada) chaired the meeting and also served as Rapporteur. There were nine participants in the final meeting of the Study Group (Annex 1). The Terms of Reference were to draft and complete a final version of a report on the state of the science of acoustic seabed classification techniques and methodologies as an important reference and guide to this emerging scientific discipline. Thirteen authors had worked by correspondence during the previous year drafting the previously defined chapters of the report on acoustic seabed classification. A detailed review of the chapter drafts was carried out by participants at the meeting. The participants focused on identifying redundancies among the chapters, consistency of terminology and accuracy of the information. Revisions to the chapters and final editing will be carried out by the report authors during the coming year via correspondence. The final version of the report will be submitted to ICES for publication as an ICES Cooperative Research Report (CRR).• The Working Group on Marine Habitat Mapping (WGMHM) should be notified of the completion of this work due to their ongoing interest in the subject of acoustic seabed classification.• Acoustic seabed classification is an emerging technology that has already developed into an important method to classify and map marine landscapes.