UK To Fund Underwater Camera Network To Monitor Deep Ocean Wildlife
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UK To Fund Underwater Camera Network To Monitor Deep Ocean Wildlife
The targets: loggerhead turtles, silky sharks and sailfish. The mission: figure out how many of them are left.
The United Kingdom announced Saturday it would launch a worldwide effort to monitor wildlife in the open oceans, hoping to fill a blue hole of scientific knowledge and get a clearer sense of which aquatic populations are under threat.
The project, akin to an underwater spy network, will fund a fleet of small action cameras, complete with bait, to be deployed about 30 feet beneath the oceanâs surface. Researchers will place a camera in the water where they hope to gather data, and it will record anything that swims near within a given window of time. The plan is for the project to span the globe, covering four oceans and the Caribbean in waters near 10 of the U.K.âs overseas territories.
Jessica Meeuwig, a professor at the University of Western Australia and a leader of the project, said that international focus on ocean health usually centers on iconic landmarks like the Great Barrier Reef. But many of the worldâs international waters, hundreds of miles offshore, are still not well understood.
âMost people assume itâs fine because itâs out of sight, out of mind,â Meeuwig said, adding that many people rarely look beyond the âblue curtainâ of the oceanâs surface. âPeople donât actually know what wildlife exists.â
Only 7.65% of the worldâs oceans are currently designated as marine protected areas, or MPAs, and just over 1% of that area lies within the âhigh seas,â the oceanic regions far from land that donât fall under any one countryâs jurisdiction.
An Atlantic sailfish captured by one of the underwater camera systems.
A blue shark captured by the underwater camera network.
The intelligence network has already been tested, producing footage of shimmering mahi-mahi, undulating marlin and powerful yellowfin tuna. Researchers also hope to capture footage of the Gouldâs squid, sea snakes and bottlenose wedgefish. Over time, researchers plan to measure populations again and again to see if theyâre stable, or if the one-two punch of overfishing and climate change is causing them to decline.
The project bolsters an international effort known as 30Ă30, which aims to protect 30% of the planetâs land and water by 2030 â a critical benchmark that conservationists say must be met to prevent many species from collapsing.
U.S. President Joe Biden has signed on to the 30Ă30 pledge, directing the Interior Department to craft a plan to meet or exceed that goal. The United States is further ahead than many countries in its protection plans, particularly with former President Barack Obamaâs expansion of the PapahÄnaumokuÄkea Marine National Monument in Hawaii in 2016 and the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, off the coast of New England, later that year.
The devices will be deployed in 10 of the U.K.âs overseas territories, comprising millions of square miles of open ocean.
Each device has two action cameras and a baited trap to lure wildlife. They will be placed about 30 feet beneath the oceanâs surface to record footage for two hours at a time.
Meeuwig said the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has given many U.K. policymakers a renewed appreciation of the importance of science â and oceanic research is benefiting as a result.
âOne thing that COVID has done is put more value on science,â she said. âI think weâre starting to understand that science matters again.â
The study couldnât come at a more pressing time. A study in January found that populations of oceanic sharks and rays have fallen by more than 70% since 1970, linked primarily to overfishing for their fins and other body parts. Scientists have also warned for a decade that yellowfin and bluefin tuna populations are collapsing, and the threat of overfishing imperils many iconic fish popular on the dinner plate.
But encouraging studies have highlighted the potential of a project like the 30Ă30 initiative. Research published last month in the journal Nature found that increasing the number and scope of marine protected areas would boost marine biodiversity and significantly expand the amount of fish humans can catch. Doing so would also provide a climate boon as the ocean would be able to sequester carbon emissions, researchers found.
âItâs clear that humanity and the economy will benefit from a healthier ocean,â Enric Sala, a lead author of the study, told National Geographic in March. âAnd we can realize those benefits quickly if countries work together to protect at least 30% of the ocean by 2030.â
The worldâs oceans are in dire straits, and Meeuwig said she didnât want to suggest otherwise. But the ability to gather more information can only be a good thing.
âI donât want to pretend that thereâs not bad news for the oceans,â Meeuwig said. âBut by providing this data where you can assist decision makers ⊠thatâs how we halt the bad trends.â
âThereâs more openness among politicians these days to accept that science matters,â she added. âI havenât seen more enthusiasm any time in the past 10 years.â
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