Double Vision: Are Two Cameras Better Than One?
Measuring a fish via video isn’t some bizarre concept dreamt up by Silicon Valley computer whizzes. This technique has actually been used in Oregon, by Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) researchers, for the last two decades. So, why would researchers even want to measure a fish via video?
This is a two part answer. In marine reserves science, changes in average fish lengths is one of the early indicators of an ecological response to closed area management. Plus, fish lengths provide valuable data to scientists who track fish populations, giving them an estimate of wild population health. For example, is the population full of small juveniles who haven’t yet hit a reproductive cycle or is it full of large, old reproducing fish? Both of those pieces of information are important to fisheries management, telling researchers a story about a populations’ long-term sustainability.
Two decades ago, ODFW researchers started using underwater video systems as a non-extractive and potentially cost effective way to collect data on abundance of fish, invertebrates, and habitat types. This opened up a whole new world of underwater research, allowing for cost-effective collection of valuable habitat data and abundance information without removing the fish from their environment.
Now, ODFW researchers are adding a new tool -stereo video- to their underwater video research toolbox. Click here to learn more about this tool and how it will be used in marine reserves research.
Help us learn how Oregonians use, value and depend on their
coast and ocean resources. ODFW Marine Reserves collaborators at Portland State
University have launched the Oregon Coastal Values Study in order research how
Oregonians use and value the Oregon coast and ocean, and awareness of coastal
and marine management. Results from the study will help inform important
decisions regarding the state's approach to managing the coast and ocean.
The study is available here: https://portlandstate.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_6LotDuMfE49QehL?RFR=030013
KEEP UP WITH OREGON MARINE RESERVES NEWS
| 
