Using the BioBase Fish Layer to Map Fishing Spots

Since the launch of EcoFish™ in May 2025, we’ve focused primarily on how much the product can help Fisheries Researchers and Managers understand more about the critters they are charged with managing, especially how many fish are where and how are they relating to habitat. Well, in addition to managing the fish and habitat in private ponds, managers can also help their clients and guests find and catch more fish with BioBase tools. Specifically, our newly enhanced waypoint feature coupled with the EcoFish layer and Lowrance®/Simrad® Chart Export tool can help put anglers on fish!

Right click on the Fish Abundance layer over fish congregations and create a waypoint. Make some notes about the waypoint
You can view and edit details about waypoints and upload or download waypoints as csv or gpx from or to your chartplotter (any brand)
View and share information about the fish data in the automated reports. In order to get the waypoints into the report, just reprocess the report after adding waypoints (Tools – Trip Reprocessing). These reports can be shared with anyone with the link.
Export Depth, Vegetation, and Bottom Hardness layers as Chart file (AT5) formatted for Lowrance or Simrad chartplotters.
Import the waypoint gpx file downloaded from BioBase to a MicroSD card. Also extract the folder of AT5 files and add to the card. View the custom made contour and vegetation maps along with the fish waypoints on your Lowrance and Simrad while you fish

BioBase Mapping Application Release Notes

This blog will be updated continuously to document dates of major feature releases, known bugs, and other release notes.

Date of Deployment

2026-10-12

FEATURES/IMPROVEMENTS

    • Trips and Merges now have the waterbody title and sonar log or trip name at the top of the map viewer. Before this was buried in the Details area of the map.
    • A range of backend and frontend fixes to a forthcoming Enterprise feature
    • Fixed an issue with the Plans page biobasemaps.com/plans that excluded free trial and international customer links
    • Implemented a “Glacier” sonar log archiving feature that puts sonar logs into a deep storage state after 30 days. Users will now see a 24-48 hr delay if they request features that require a reprocessing of the entire sonar log (e.g., side-scan, fish, sonar dot overlay, etc).

2026-09-22

FEATURES/IMPROVEMENTS

    • Fixed a bug that was not updating maps after a user edited the data or added manual depths, vegetation, or bottom hardness
    • Fixed a bug that was preventing the display of individual fish targets on merged maps.
    • Added correct legends to Presence Absence Maps
    • Fixed a bug that was preventing a user from changing the min depth of veg detection with Presence Absence Maps
    • Trips with overlapping timestamps uploaded by the same customers are flagged and put on Hold. Overlapping timestamps indicate a high likelihood that another unauthorized user collected the quarantined data. Our terms require the subscriber is the data collector and the uploader.
    • Updated Terms and Conditions and End User License Agreement (EULA) that define Abandon Accounts and how BioBase will handle them
    • Additional security that prevents password sharing with unauthorized users.
    • Updates to Storage Limits for different Subscription Plans
    • Platform fee removed from all Plans
    • Improved AI Chat Feature on the biobasemaps.com website
    • FAQ’s updated
    • A variety of other minor database updates and processing enhancements

2026-09-08

FEATURES/IMPROVEMENTS

    • NEW FEATURE: User can elect to process a vegetation map as a single-color map showing only where vegetation is present (green). Presence is based on the minimum biovolume threshold the user selects (default is 5%). Only areas where vegetation is greater than the threshold are colored green. Feature is available only in My Account – Processing Preferences
    • NEW FEATURE: Customers can now elect to  reduce the sensitivity of vegetation detection in shallow water in their Processing Preferences.
    • Website enhanced with new Carousel Images
    • Several Database improvements and updates and minor bug fixes

2026-08-11

Known bug

    • Single Waterbody Subscriptions are not automatically creating hypsographic outputs in the report. Contact support for workarounds while we work on a fix. (fixed 8/19/26)

2026-07-21

FEATURES/IMPROVEMENTS

    • Several back office and database updates and improvements
    • Fixed a bug that was preventing the display of fish layers on merges

2026-07-08

FEATURES/IMPROVEMENTS

    • NEW FEATURE: Size of the yellow dot/ellipse indicating the boat position in the BioBase trip viewer increased for better visibility.
    • Better user feedback for EcoFish surveys that did not detect any fish indicating “No Fish Detected”
    • Clear default naming convention for pdf reports (e.g., LakeName_TripID_AnalysisReport)
    • Several Backoffice improvements for better customer support
    • Other enhancements and bug fixes.

Known Bugs

    • EcoFish Layers not displaying for merges (“No Fish Detected” Feature listed above wrongfully replaced the valid layer on Merges). Bug Detected on 7/20/2026 (fixed 7/21/2026)

2026-06-22

FEATURES/IMPROVEMENTS

    • Seamless compatibility with Deeper Sonar-collected csv files.
    • Range of back office feature enhancements for better customer support
    • Record ID is now included in any csv point export. Numeric Records are appended with a “-s” which stands for “sonar” and “-m” which stands for “manual”
    • Removed “Apply Processing Preferences” button from the trip reprocessing form that was causing user confusion when trying to change processing settings for a specific trip.
    • Users can now fully delete csv maps they don’t want in their trip library.
    • Enhanced date/time compatibility for csv uploads.

2026-06-02

Features/improvements

    • Removal of encryption for Lowrance Chart File (AT5) generation of BioBase maps. This now allows users to generate Lowrance chart files that will work on any newer generation Lowrance chartplotter. NOTE: Chart files cannot be generated and resold for commercial purposes.
    • Database updates

Known Bugs

    • Intermittent drawing order bug that draws the polygon layer under other the vegetation and bottom hardness layer making polygons impossible to see with 100% opacity. (fixed 6/22/26)
    • Users may encounter problems with reprocessing trips. In the map of the affected trip go to Details – Ask the Expert and send us a request to manually reprocess. (fixed 6/4/2026)

2026-03-24

Features/improvements

    • Migration off Bing to Azure Maps as the background BioBase Map Engine
    • A variety of required formatting changes to the map and some tools (e.g., Polygon Tool, Transect Tool)
    • Print to PDF tool for Automated Reports
    • Improvements to the Accuracy of the Sync feature for EcoFish maps and companion data
    • Fix for inaccurate storage calculations
    • Variety of other backend and processing improvements

Known Bugs

    • The export imagery tool may not load and screenshot all the image tiles present in the map. (fixed 4/9/2026)
    • Azure Map instances in the Print to PDF reports intermittently load (fixed 4/9/2026)
    • Metric conversion error in Biovolume Analysis by Depth in Reports. For users with imperial measurement settings, analysis reports list the units in feet but the numbers are actually meters. (fixed 6/2/2026)

2026-02-18

Features/improvements

    • Improvement to the Survey Toolkit/Transect Planner that allows users to request waterbody boundaries necessary for the clipping feature if we don’t have the waterbody shapefile already in our database.
    • More seamless copy paste of Lat/Long location from Google Maps to the Transect Planner “Focus Map” feature
    • Improved naming conventions of csv exports (e.g., [trip ID]_[Layer]_[Data Type – point or grid])

Continue reading “BioBase Mapping Application Release Notes”

Announcing the BioBase Fish Mapping Layer: EcoFish!

 

Announcing EcoFish TM! A Game-Changing BioBase fish mapping layer powered by Echoview Software, the industry leader in fisheries hydroacoustic processing technology.

Now, anyone with a Lowrance® or Simrad® depth finder can generate detailed counts, depths, relative size, and location of fish. Not only that, but also at the same time with no additional work, acquire critical habitat details including surface water temperature, depth contours, bottom hardness, aquatic vegetation abundance, and detailed side-scan imagery of habitat. If you want the webinar version to learn more, check it out on our YouTube Channel, otherwise read on…

Continue reading “Announcing the BioBase Fish Mapping Layer: EcoFish!”

Revealing the underwater mystery of maar volcanoes with BioBase mapping: from violent explosions to peaceful lakes

Guest Blog by

Dr. Jaime A. Cavazos-Álvarez

Volcanologist and Postdoctoral Researcher
Instituto de Geociencias, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)

jcavazos@geociencias.unam.mx

When gazing at a peaceful lake, have you ever wondered about its origin? What natural treasures are hidden underwater? How are rocks and life continuously adapting? Well, usually the answers to these questions are far from their characteristic steady landscapes. The answers to these questions lie underwater, usually leaving much to our imagination. Now, with BioBase we are closer than ever in seeing what’s inside these lakes. And, as expected, while solving these questions many others emerged. I will take this opportunity to share a couple of case studies of fascinating lakes in Mexico, and how BioBase has opened new paths towards their understanding.

Continue reading “Revealing the underwater mystery of maar volcanoes with BioBase mapping: from violent explosions to peaceful lakes”

BioBase LLC and Echoview Software Partner to Launch EcoFish: A Game-Changing Fish Mapping Layer

2025-01-17

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

BioBase LLC and Echoview Software Partner to Launch EcoFish: A Game-Changing Fish Mapping Layer

Nashville, TN USA — January 17th 2025 — BioBase LLC, a leader in cloud-based automated aquatic habitat mapping, is proud to announce a strategic partnership with Echoview Software Pty Ltd, experts in hydroacoustic science and software. In early 2025, BioBase is set to launch EcoFish: an innovative fish data and mapping layer generated by Echoview and seamlessly integrated into BioBase’s platform.

EcoFish will provide users with unprecedented insights into the location and number of fish in waterbodies mapped using Lowrance® and Simrad® sonars. Leveraging Echoview’s comprehensive and trusted data processing capabilities, EcoFish will offer valuable tools for fisheries management, research, and conservation.

“Our collaboration with Echoview represents a significant leap forward in our mission to democratize the process of creating powerful datasets and maps of aquatic environments,” said Ray Valley, President of BioBase. “We’ve long recognized that to take BioBase to the next level and enable better fisheries monitoring and conservation, fish need to be included in the suite of map layers BioBase creates. Our partnership with Echoview gets us there.”

Echoview’s expertise in processing and visualizing sonar data is the cornerstone of EcoFish’s capabilities. By integrating this technology into the BioBase platform, users will benefit from:

  • Fish Count Data: High-resolution fish distribution maps and data exports that provide near real-time insights.
  • User-Friendly Interface: Intuitive, turnkey tools designed for ease of use by both experts and non-specialists.
  • Automated Reports: Data summaries that give you basic statistics and charts of the number, location, and depth of fish.

“We’re thrilled to partner with BioBase to bring EcoFish to life,” said Brett Merritt, CEO of Echoview Software. “This collaboration aligns with our vision of increasing the accessibility and usage of active acoustic data across a wide range of sectors, budgets, and experience. We expect that EcoFish will be used to inform sustainable management decisions for aquatic ecosystems by offering a way to quickly and easily extract valuable information about organisms in their survey data.”

EcoFish will be officially launched in early 2025, with demonstrations and early access opportunities available. To receive updates follow us at biobasemaps.com, our blog, LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, or X

About BioBase LLC. BioBase (biobasemaps.com) is the only commercial cloud platform specifically focused on automating the processing and map creation from off-the-shelf sonars. Through automation and cloud processing, BioBase enables the freshwater and coastal science professionals to focus their efforts on aquatic resource conservation and not making a map.

About Echoview Software. Echoview Software (echoview.com) provides industry-leading software and expertise in hydroacoustic data processing. Our flagship product, Echoview®, facilitates echosounder and sonar data analysis for fine-scale behavioral observations, ecosystem-level monitoring, stock assessments, ecological research, and more. Echoview has been used in more than 70 countries by governments, scientists, commercial fishing companies, environmental consultants and non-government organizations for 30 years, supporting the understanding and sustainable use of aquatic resources.

 

For media inquiries, please contact:

Ray Valley
President, BioBase LLC
ray.valley@biobasemaps.com
(+1) 651-204-0640

Changes to BioBasemaps.com Sign-Up and Sign-In Process

As part of our ongoing efforts to enhance security and improve user experience, BioBasemaps.com will be updating its sign-up and sign-in process. These changes took effect on October 22nd, 2024. Existine customers should follow the steps outlined here to log in and merge their trips/merges into the new accounts.

Tips and Tricks – Optimizing GPS Heading for Accurate Data and Side-Scan Imagery

Optimizing GPS Heading for Accurate Data

“Discover how the correct heading of your portable GPS puck in the BioBase portable kit can dramatically impact the accuracy of your maps and data outcomes. In this tutorial, we guide you through the importance of proper alignment and demonstrate the effects of incorrect positioning on your aquatic habitat maps. Perfect for aquatic habitat managers and anyone using the BioBase portable kit, this video ensures you get the most precise data from your GPS setup. Watch now to optimize your mapping accuracy!”

For more tips and tricks or how to use BioBase visit our support resources page, or other tips and tricks like Tips and Tricks – Upload Trips Remotely

 

Mapping Is Managing Part 2 : Water Resource Management

Mapping is Managing Part 2: Water Resource Management

Continuing our exploration in the “Mapping is Managing” series, we turn our attention to the the pricelessness of freshwater and the pivotal role mapping plays in ensuring its effective management.

Reservoirs and Conduits of Freshwater

Lakes and other natural and artificial waterways, beyond their scenic beauty and ecological importance, function as vital reservoirs of freshwater. Their significance extends far beyond providing postcard-perfect landscapes; they are lifelines for communities, supporting diverse needs such as drinking water, irrigation, and industrial processes. The challenge lies in managing this precious resource efficiently. The Central Arizona Project demonstrates a perfect example of how rapid mapping with BioBase technology helps deliver life-blood water to a city in the desert of Arizona

Continue reading “Mapping Is Managing Part 2 : Water Resource Management”

BioBase Announcements and Events

BioBase Announcements and Events

Stay up to date on important announcements from BioBase including partnerships, major feature releases, webinars, training, and the BioBase Traveling Road Show!

Continue reading “BioBase Announcements and Events”

Mapping Remote Wilderness Lakes with BioBase

BioBase has become famous for its capability to easily map almost any type of waterbody with very little know-how and hardly any equipment. One of the applications that strikes at the core of any explorer is literally mapping uncharted waters. There should be no reason now why we know more about the surface of the moon than we do about the globe’s underwater environments!

Continue reading “Mapping Remote Wilderness Lakes with BioBase”

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