The Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) is a global platform with a focus on aquatic animal tracking, data management and partnerships. OTN and its partners use telemetry technology and electronic tags to track species, examine interspecies interactions and understand habitat usage and migration patterns.
OTN collects and manages data for 238 aquatic species in the five oceans and various freshwater systems. Over 2,000 acoustic receivers have been deployed along the seafloor to date. Collected data is uploaded to a central database accessible by OTN partners.
To track keystone, commercially important, culturally valuable, and endangered species, scientists tag aquatic organisms with small electronic transmitters that can be surgically implanted or attached to the animal externally. Transmitters may have a lifespan of up to 20 years and an unique ID tagged animal identification within 500 meters of an acoustic receiver.
CMAR and the Nova Scotia Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture (NSDFA) have partnered with OTN since 2017. Sensor strings anchored with acoustic receivers (VR2AR units) are deployed as part of CMAR’s Coastal Monitoring Program. Upon retrieval, data is transferred to OTN.
You can view an interactive map of the the senor sites established around Nova Scotia by clicking on the map below.
