Land-based Receivers to Track Sharks
Land-based Receivers to Track Sharks
Posted July 26, 2016Under the supervision of Dr. Kim Holland, the Shark Research Group from the Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology continues to tag sharks in waters off Hawaiʻi to collect valuable behavioral and oceanographic data. Previously, data were solely transmitted through the Argos satellite system whenever the tagged animal surfaced. However, since Argos satellite availability averages only 6-12 minutes per hour in Hawai’i, land-based receivers are now being installed at high elevations around Maui and O’ahu to augment the satellite array and increase data throughput from fin-mounted tags. Pilot projects in Hawai’i have shown that land-based receivers can significantly increase data recovery – in some cases by a factor of ten. Receivers, such as the one installed atop of Mount Ka’ala, O’ahu, have the potential to detect signals in a range of 90 km. PacIOOS and the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) are supporting the project as part of the Ocean Technology Transition Initiative.
