Ocean camera network launched to protect wildlife in UK Overseas Territories

Rigs will film and analyse white marlin, silky sharks, black triggerfish, loggerhead turtles, Gould’s squid and sea snakes

Researcher Naima Andreas Lopez with a midwater BRUVS (Blue Abacus/PA)

A network of underwater cameras designed to protect wildlife beneath the waves are being installed across UK Overseas Territories.

The government said the project is the first of its kind and the world’s largest ocean monitoring system to protect wildlife.

It is also part of the UK’s Blue Belt programme of marine protected areas around the globe.

The camera rigs, known as baited remote underwater video systems (BRUVS) will be deployed in the Caribbean, South Atlantic, Indian, Pacific and Southern Oceans, with project partner Blue Abacus, which is based in Australia.

They will be used to monitor wildlife in 10 Overseas Territories: Pitcairn, Ascension, St Helena, Tristan da Cunha, British Indian Ocean Territory, Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Montserrat and within the British Antarctic Territory.

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The cameras will film and analyse data on species including white marlin, silky sharks, black triggerfish, loggerhead turtles, Gould’s squid and sea snakes.

It is hoped the £2m UK-funded network, which is being deployed as the health of the oceans is in decline, will help scientists improve their understanding of the marine environment and how to restore it.

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, said: “The marine wildlife living along the coastlines of our Overseas Territories is some of the most spectacular in the world and we must do more to protect it.

“Cutting-edge technology, such as these cameras, will be vital in our crusade against climate change. Our marine experts are world leaders in protecting our ocean and the myriad of species that live within it.”

The environment minister, Lord Goldsmith, said: “Understanding and protecting marine life is essential to maintaining our world’s biological diversity.

“The lack of information on the variety and abundance of different species in large parts of the ocean makes it difficult for countries to protect them effectively.

“These UK-funded underwater video cameras will provide a wealth of information on the biodiversity in the seas around the Overseas Territories, including on globally threatened species of shark and migratory fish, like the bluefin tuna.”

Co-founder of Blue Abacus and professor at the University of Western Australia, Jessica Meeuwig, said: “The world’s tunas, sharks and large reef fish continue to decline in numbers and this trend must be reversed.

“This programme will give decision makers the evidence they need to act decisively in support of their blue economies.”

The Blue Belt programme has brought in marine protection measures across four million square kilometres of oceans around the UK Overseas Territories, and funding to help manage the seas.

Additional reporting by PA