If you have ever looked out to sea and wished you could see the full miscellany of life swimming in its depths, you are not alone. Marine scientists have long wished for a clear picture of the movements and lifestyle of ocean species.
Now researchers are planning a global project to tag numerous important marine species. The Ocean Tracking Network will cover 14 ocean regions, including most of the Atlantic and Pacific. The project should provide insights into how climate change is affecting marine ecosystems and migration, and help conservation efforts. It will also assist in the management of fisheries, by showing when they should be closed to preserve endangered stocks, for example.
Some marine species are already tracked across regions such as the Pacific ocean shelf, but many, including tuna, roam worldwide. Individuals will be tagged with electronic transmitters, often as small as an almond. For example, wild salmon can be implanted with a tag in their abdomen, which sends out an acoustic signal that can be picked up when the fish pass near receivers scattered across the ocean floor.
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At a meeting at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Canada, on 27 June, researchers from 100 universities and organisations met to discuss which species to track first. Animals of interest include whales, polar bears and penguins, and the network has already agreed to install an array of sensors in Prince William Sound, on the south coast of Alaska, to track salmon sharks.
