Back to search

ROVing the waters to protect our oceans

Sept. 1, 2009

A CSU Monterey Bay faculty member is joining with the Nature Conservancy and several other partners on a study to assess the impact of trawl fishing in Morro Bay, using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV).

Moving just above the seafloor, the ROV – an underwater robot equipped with cameras – gathers video and still photographs of marine life and habitats, vital data in the fight to save California's threatened oceans.

The ROV is tethered to and piloted from a ship. It scans the ocean floor and transmits data to the ship's onboard computers, where it is recorded for analysis by scientists.

Using the ROV, Dr. James Lindholm of CSU Monterey Bay and other members of the research team – the Conservancy, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Marine Applied Research and Exploration and fishing partners – can evaluate how the seafloor and the animals that live there recover after being trawled.

Dr. Lindholm has long been interested in the recovery of the seafloor and marine life from alteration by human activities, especially from trawling – a method of commercial fishing that involves pulling a large net through the water behind a boat.

"Trawling impacts the seafloor," Dr. Lindholm said. "What we don't know ishowthe seafloor recovers following trawling – or different levels of trawling."

One of the challenges in doing this kind of research is finding a place that can serve as a control area. "We need a place where there is trawling, and a comparable place where it isn't allowed – with the habitat types we want to study," the CSUMB professor explained.

As part of a larger project, the Nature Conservancy recently bought out trawling permits in Morro Bay, effectively making it a closed area – and giving researchers the control site they need.

Trawling has been a contentious issue, pitting fishermen against environmentalists.

"We aren't interested in banning any particular kind of gear," Dr. Lindholm said. "Rather, we want to provide the science that facilitates good decision-making so that the resources on the seafloor can be managed better, in the interests of fishermen, conservationists and all the people who eat fish."

Graduate students at CSUMB and Moss Landing and a handful of CSUMB undergraduates will also work on the project.

"I love working with the Nature Conservancy," he said. "It's a great project for our students to be involved in, for the science we will produce and for the broader effort of being involved with supporting the Morro Bay community."

The five-year study was kicked off recently with a name-the-ROV contest. The Nature Conservancy invited the public to vote for their favorite name online. The winning name will be announced on Sept. 25.

The nominations are:

• Beagle - Darwin's famous ship

• Petrale Patrol

• Rachel Carson - A legend among environmentalists

• Rock Lobster

• Nemo

For the record, Dr. Lindholm prefers "Nemo."

"Operationally, writing a single, short word on data sheets would be easier."