Marine Science and Engineering A Time-Extended (24 h) Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) for Monitoring Pelagic and Nocturnal Marine Species

Agusti Torres , Ana-Maria Abril (1) , Eric E G Clua (2, 3)

1 UIB - Universitat de les Illes Balears
2 CRIOBE - Centre de recherches insulaires et observatoire de l'environnement
3 LabEX CORAIL - Laboratoire d'Excellence CORAIL

Baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVs) are efficient devices for remotely characterising the assemblage and relative density of fishes and other marine organisms. However, technological constraints (e.g., battery life and limited storage memory) typically limit deployment times to <2 h making it very difficult to capture the presence of marine species, including rare and elusive ones. We developed an extended duration (24 h) BRUV to enable fisheries-independent surveying of a pelagic shark population in the western Mediterranean. Video data revealed seven visits (three nocturnal, four diurnal) by blue sharks (Prionace glauca) over a period of 1355 h. In the future, this cost-effective device could be fitted with a wireless video transmitter to provide real-time observations of marine animals for scientific or ecotourism purposes.

Keywords: marine fauna observation; shark densities assessment; fisheries-independent assessment; underwater visual census; blue shark Prionace glauca

Domains: Environmental Engineering; Oceanography; Vertebrate Zoology

Agusti Torres, Ana-Maria Abril, Eric E G Clua. Marine Science and Engineering A Time-Extended (24 h) Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) for Monitoring Pelagic and Nocturnal Marine Species. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 2020, 8 (3), pp.208. ⟨10.3390/jmse8030208⟩. ⟨hal-02954118⟩