This paper describes echo tracers obtained by using a colour echo sounderin the northern South China Sea during 1983 to 1984.A depression on the sea floor was displayed on an expanded depth scaleby using a narrow acoustic beam which allows better delineation of bottomtopography than a wide beam.The colour display can discriminate dense fishschools against the bottom echo and is superior to a”white line”display.Using signals of 200 KHz and 2 KW in shallow water,returns could be obtainedfrom a sand-mud bottom to the designed depth of 540 m.Sometimes,it ispossible to determine whether the bottom is hard or soft.Thickness of alayer of mud on the seabed may be determined by comparing simultaneous200 KHz and 28 KHz echo tracers.When subjected to winds in excess of 34knots(k),vertical movements of the vessel had been observed on echo-sounderdisplays.Sampling action of a cast of Nansen bottles was recorded.