Project Description
The addition of lightweight, smart cameras to industrial ROVs can enable scientists to gather information on marine growth and fauna associated with offshore infrastructure. Knowledge of the ecological value of infrastructure in our ocean is required to inform best practice decommissioning decisions.
The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and UWA have developed small, automated camera systems that attach to commercial western rock lobster pots. During standard fishing operations, fishers have gathered the greatest spatial resolution of data on fish and habitats in the world. These camera systems, which possess integrated GPS, depth, temperature and video sensors cost<$700 AUD and could potentially also be utilized by the offshore oil and gas industry. With >700 industrial ROV’s in operation around the globe, there exists an unprecedented opportunity to slightly adapt operations to facilitate new scientific discoveries and to better understand human impacts on our oceans.
This project trialled the use of small, automated camera systems on an ROV for obtaining scientific information on fish and habitats around man-made structures. Fish assemblage data was collected at the Rottnest artificial reef towers using both small, automated camera systems (POTBot; Pictures of the Bottom) mounted on an ROV, as well as baited remote underwater stereo-video systems (stereo-BRUV) deployed on the seafloor. The ROV recorded a greater abundance, species richness, and biomass compared to stereo-BRUVs.
Until stereo-video becomes a standard feature of ROV technology, POTBot cameras provide a feasible and logistically easy solution to monitor marine communities around offshore infrastructure and inform decommissioning decisions.
Figure 1: The BlueROV2, augmented with POTBots in a stereo-video configuration
Figure 2: Figure 2: Noteworthy ROV observations at the Rottnest Artificial Reef
