New Submersibles to Change Fish Tracking Methods in Alaska
25.06.2010 - Logistics, Water & Oceans, Flora & Fauna, Arctic
The difficulties of tracking tagged fish across Alaska’s continental shelves might be a thing of the past as researchers at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks successfully tested a new type of underwater glider.
The gliders - the first to be deployed in Alaska with an acoustic monitoring device to track tagged fish - are about one and a half metres long and cut through the water in an up-and-down motion. Moving at 1.6km/h, the submersibles can last for up to three months and cover thousands of kilometres of ocean. Once at the surface, the glider transmits data - including its location and oceanographic readings - directly to scientists.
While more traditional methods of tracking the fish require a ship equipped with an acoustic listening device, the new method is ideal for Alaska waters because the gliders can cover large distances and offer monitoring possibilities at a much lower cost. Scientists are now planning to use the gliders to gather oceanographic information in the Chukchi Sea.
