Electronic version of fish and chips planned to track sea life
Feb 13th, 2007 by shan
In a modern update of “fish and chips,” researchers have announced a worldwide effort to track the movement of sea creatures like whales, turtles, shark etc to be tagged with tiny electronic devices.
Following pilot testing in the north Pacific, the Ocean Tracking Network will expand to the Atlantic, Arctic, Mediterranean and Gulf of Mexico.
Details of the expansion were announced on Monday at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Sea life ranging from salmon to whales, turtles to sharks, will be tagged so they can then be tracked as they swim past arrays of sensors placed at critical locations in the oceans.
The Ocean Tracking Network “will foster the development of new Canadian technology, a deeper understanding of the effects of climate change and help shape fisheries and endangered species management worldwide,” Peter MacKay, Canada’s minister of foreign affairs and minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, said in a prepared statement.
Initial research for the effort was done as a joint US-Canada project in the north Pacific.
The goal is eventually to have 5,000 ocean receivers arranged in 60 lines worldwide, capable of tracking up to 1 million animals at the same time. Headquarters will be at Dalhousie University.
Some listening equipment already in use can be modified to become part of the programme while other areas will need new equipment, officials said.