In the dark and unexplored sea of the Eastern Cape, a newcomer lurks. The prey of this engineered beast is the seafloor, where it gathers samples and information about life in the ocean's depths, which was previously unobservable.
In the dark and unexplored sea of the Eastern Cape, a newcomer lurks. The prey of this engineered beast is the seafloor, where it gathers samples and information about life in the ocean's depths, which was previously unobservable.
The machine is the Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) bought in 2009 by the African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme. The Programme was initiated after live coelacanths were discovered in 2000 off Sodwana Bay by scuba divers.
The fish was thought to have died out about 70 million years ago, until one was identified by the curator of the East London Museum, Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, in 1938, when it was caught by the crew of a fishing trawler off the coast of East London.
In May 2011, the ROV was used in Sodwana Bay to conduct fish surveys, collect invertebrates, survey coelacanth habitats and to find and film the coelacanths.
Manager of the Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme, Ryan Palmer, believes ROV is the cutting-edge technology of today.
“It opens a whole new dimension in marine research in South Africa, and the vehicle is capable of diving 300m and can stay underwater for as long as possible. This enables scientists to explore areas out of reach for scuba divers, who are limited by depth and time, and for whom deep diving is risky.” Says Palmer
Five researchers from the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity (SAIAB) and South African Environmental Observation Network (SAEON) based in Grahamstown have been trained as pilots and technicians of the vehicle. They stay on the large ski-boat and manipulate the remote controls to enable the vehicle to observe, collect samples and take photographs of up to 300m below them.
According to SAIAB, “the vehicle is equipped with two high-resolution cameras and one low-light black and white camera; a sonar sensor to help with navigation; a navigation system to track the vehicle from the boat; and a five-function manipulator arm to retrieve samples from the seafloor.”
The Knowledge gathered using ROV could put South Africa at the forefront internationally of marine physical and biodiversity sciences.
Next month ROV is off to Algoa Bay for exploratory dives and to carry out fish and invertebrate surveys.
