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| A diver carefully installs a stereo camera for FishDrop, a semi-automated fish census technology developed by UP scientists. (Photo credit: Prospero Naval, Jr., and Laura T. David) |
Monitoring the health of marine environments is a laborious activity, but is essential for evaluating the success of reef protection and rehabilitation initiatives. A fish census commonly involves divers swimming along a transect line, usually marked by a plastic cord, and visually counting and identifying the fish species that they encounter. This painstaking process requires trained experts and highly knowledgeable divers to accurately record data on species, size, and abundance.
