http://inquirer.stanford.edu
A Publication of the Stanford Graduate Program in Journalism

Home > This Week > Global Warming

New High-Tech Tracking Devices for Deep Sea Creatures By Hugh Biggar
February 13, 2004

SEATTLE- Scientists at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting here unveiled an emerging new technology that will allow them to track the movements of deep-ocean predators as they migrate along "marine highways."

Small, cell-phone sized tags and satellite-linked GPS devices placed on the predators are providing new insights into their feeding, migratory and breeding behavior. In turn, this information then helps scientists better understand the connection between these creatures and their ocean
habitats. It also reveals areas where the predators are running into environmental problems, such as changes in ocean temperature due to global warming, and changes in the flow of currents.

"Piece by piece, we are assembling a picture of how these animals are using their environment," said Barbara Block, a leader on the project and a Stanford University scientist.

By tracking their movements, marine biologists may also be able to map areas critical to the animals' survival. This mapping is an important component of a new movement to create large, open-ocean preserves in the tradition of national parks.

How, under global laws, to make this happen is an issue. However, Elliott Norse of the Marine Conservation Biology Institute, stated, "The United Nations has the authority to set up marine conservation zones in the high seas."

Through identifying and protecting such critical ocean areas, scientists will then be able to better protect its marine life- particularly such deep-water predators as sharks, marlins and billfish.

Currently, the long-term survival of these animals is in jeopardy. Commercial fishing practices have killed off many species. Others continue to die as accidental victims, according to Norse, snared in long walls of nets with millions of hooks. Seaweb, an organization dedicated to raising awareness about the ocean, reports over a quarter of the animals caught in these hauls - called the "bycatch -- are not used. Accordingly, the populations of deep-ocean predators have plummeted in recent decades. According to a recent report in Nature, they have declined by 90 percent over the last fifty years, mainly due to industrial fishing practices.

Scientists hope that the information provided by the electronic tags will help them find ways to restore these populations.

"We don't have the basic information that would be needed to ensure the long-term health of [ocean] ecosystems," Block said. "Our objective is to garner the knowledge that will lay the foundation for future management."

Contact Hugh Biggar at hbiggar at stanford.edu.

Go Back