Ocean Tracking Network

06/12/2025

THAT'S A WRAP! ✅

Research in Québec’s remote Chic-Choc Mountains is officially complete. This collaborative project combined Indigenous and western scientific knowledge systems to better understand alpine aquatic ecosystems.

Over the last 3 years, OTN provided a loan of 25 acoustic receivers and tagging support to track brook trout in Lac Thibault. Led by the Canadian Mountain Network (now Braiding Knowledges Canada), this work is part of a broader movement to braid ways of knowing together within environmental research.

We love collaborating on projects like this! You can read more about this project and others like it in our 2024 annual report: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/annual-report-2024/

📸: Louise Chavarie

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada

06/08/2025

🎤 Mic drop… into the ocean.

This , we’re letting the ocean speak and listening closely to the giants of the deep.

OTN is collaborating with Transport Canada on ocean glider missions to help reduce ship strikes with endangered whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. These gliders are primarily deployed to detect North Atlantic right whales, triggering a 10-knot speed limit in shipping lanes when the whales are present. To detect if whales are in the an area, Slocum gliders are equipped with hydrophones to listen for whale calls. Hydrophones are essentially underwater microphones, but look different than the ones you'd find on land. They're the little amber coloured 'bulbs' located on top of the gliders.

These hydrophones are capturing the calls of other whales too, including the elusive and endangered blue whale. The blue whale’s low-frequency vocalizations aren’t always easily or automatically detected by current software. To change that, OTN collaborator Katherine Indeck, with colleagues at the University of New Brunswick, are advancing near real-time whale call classification by implementing a new blue whale call library developed by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. The team is also applying newly updated regional detection protocols for blue and sei whales to improve species validation efforts.

This World Oceans Day mic drop reminds us that when we truly listen to the ocean, we’re better equipped to protect it.

📊 Figure from: Indeck et al. (2025). Glider surveillance for right whale detection. https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2025e111

06/04/2025

We’re inviting OTN collaborators to feature their work in a research profile!

Researchers are doing amazing work and we want to share it! If you’re part of the OTN community and want to highlight your project, check out our research profiles. They’re a great way to:

🌊 Strengthen community connections
🌊 Share your insights with a global audience
🌊 Inspire future research

Learn more & get started: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/research-profiles/

FACT Network MigraMar European Tracking Network ATAP - Tracking fish movements IMOS Animal Tracking Facility

06/02/2025

📣 WE’RE HIRING!

OTN is looking for a programmer to join our team! They will be responsible for delivering reproducible data products and visualizations that showcase the use of OTN data, and for responding to requests for historic or summarized data and visualizations.

Learn more and apply by June 13: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/were-hiring-programmer/

05/27/2025

📢 Publication alert! Before his retirement, former OTN executive director Fred Whoriskey published a paper in Oceanography on building global ocean biodiversity monitoring capacity through acoustic telemetry and the critical role OTN plays in this effort.

As climate change reshapes species distributions and ecosystems, timely, coordinated tracking of marine animals is vital for conservation, fisheries management, and supporting Indigenous and coastal community livelihoods.

The article highlights real-world applications, including:
🌊Marine protected area effectiveness
🌊 Critically endangered North Atlantic right whale protection
🌊 Pacific salmon conservation

Read it here: https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2025e103

05/15/2025

📣 Deadline extended! The Apoqnmatulti’k project is still accepting applications for a funded Master of Science opportunity at Acadia University!

🗓 New deadline: May 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM (Atlantic Time)

Learn more and apply: https://www.apoqnmatultik.ca/new-blog/msc-opportunity-pekwitapaqek

📣 Deadline extended!

We're still accepting applications for a funded Master of Science opportunity through Acadia University focused on tracking katew (American eel) in the Pekwitapa’qek (Bay of Fundy) as part of the collaborative Apoqnmatulti’k project.

🗓 New deadline: May 26, 2025 at 5:00 PM (Atlantic Time)

Learn more & apply: https://www.apoqnmatultik.ca/new-blog/msc-opportunity-pekwitapaqek

05/13/2025

After 7 weeks at sea, the spring bloom gliders have returned home!

The gliders captured data on ocean conditions before, during, and after the bloom. This year’s mission was one of our most ambitious yet, with multiple gliders tracking key environmental changes in the Northwest Atlantic.

Here are a few mission highlights:
✅ A first for us! OTN200, our most sensor-packed glider ever, was deployed ahead of the bloom, providing rare insights into pre-bloom winter phytoplankton and nutrient concentrations.

✅ 7 sensors were in action at once, measuring everything from nitrate levels (a key nutrient for phytoplankton growth) to chlorophyll fluorescence (a proxy for phytoplankton abundance), ocean productivity, animal detections via acoustic transceivers, and more!

✅ 4 gliders in total (2 OTN Slocum gliders + 1 OTN Wave Glider + 1 Fisheries and Oceans Canada Slocum) worked together to paint a comprehensive picture of this critical ocean event.

✅ We partnered with Sea-Bird Scientific to test their new ECO V2 sensor. This is a new version of a sensor widely used by the ocean research community. This sensor uses light to approximate phytoplankton abundance, particles in the water, and dissolved organic matter. It was riding alongside the older ECO V1 sensor to compare performance in real-world ocean conditions.

With the data now in hand, the information will be analyzed by the different teams involved to help better understand how changing ocean conditions impact marine ecosystems and global carbon cycling.

Spring bloom mission: complete! 🌱🌊

05/07/2025

That’s a wrap on the 2025 Early Career Researcher (ECR) Workshop!

Last week, emerging ocean researchers gathered for two days of learning, connecting and collaborating.

🌊 Day 1 dove into data analysis and visualization, fieldwork best practices and science communication essentials.
🌊 Day 2 featured a manufacturer’s forum exploring the future of acoustic technologies for aquatic animal tracking. This was followed by interactive discussions where ECRs shared their insights alongside OTN’s governing bodies and members of our larger network, directly contributing to conversations that will help shape the future direction of OTN.

A huge thank you to all who participated. Your energy, curiosity and ideas made the workshop a great success. Until next time!

05/02/2025

🌊 How is climate change affecting Arctic charr in Greenland's fjords?

Dr. Jan Grimsrud Davidsen—based at NTNU - Norges teknisk-naturvitenskapelige universitet—shares how he and his team are using acoustic telemetry to track these vital fish in a rapidly changing environment. Learn how OTN-supported research is uncovering critical patterns in Arctic and subarctic ecosystems in our latest research profile: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/project/jan-grimsrud-davidsen/

📸: Jan Grimsrud Davidsen, NTNU

04/23/2025

2024 was a milestone year for OTN, thanks to the incredible researchers, partners, and team members who drive our work forward! Here are just a few highlights from this amazing community:

🌊 A major step forward: OTN was selected to transition from a Canada Foundation for Innovation Major Science Initiative to the prestigious Major Research Facilities (MRF) program. This recognition reflects OTN's research impact in Canada and beyond.

🌊 Expanding tracking capacity: We added 700+ new acoustic receivers to our network, giving researchers even more tools to track marine life and garner critical insights in support of management and conservation.

🌊 Furthering global research: Our team facilitated nearly 50 equipment loan agreements, enabling scientists across academia, government, non-profits, and industry to study aquatic species worldwide.

Read more in our 2024 annual report: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/annual-report-2024/

04/18/2025

Attention grad students: exciting opportunity with Apoqnmatulti’k!

We're recruiting a graduate student for a funded Master of Science position based at Acadia University, focused on tracking the movement of American eel in the Bay of Fundy. This position is part of a unique, collaborative project that brings together Mi’kmaw, local, and western scientific knowledge to support community-led aquatic research.

Learn more and help spread the word: https://www.apoqnmatultik.ca/new-blog/msc-opportunity-pekwitapaqek

🌊 Another exciting opportunity for a graduate student! 🌊

Are you passionate about aquatic ecosystems and community-led research? Apoqnmatulti’k—a collaborative project that brings together Mi’kmaw, local, and western scientific knowledge—is recruiting a student for a funded Master of Science position based at Acadia University. This research will focus on tracking the movement patterns of katew (American eel) in the Pekwitapa’qek (Bay of Fundy).

Learn more: https://www.apoqnmatultik.ca/new-blog/msc-opportunity-pekwitapaqek

04/17/2025

Sponges: nature’s little biodiversity monitors 🌊 🧽

Biofouling is inevitable on underwater structures, but it’s also a chance for discovery! In collaboration with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and The Mariani Lab at Liverpool John Moores University, OTN is harnessing biofouling on its moorings off the coast of Nova Scotia to develop an innovative new tool for monitoring marine biodiversity.

The star of the show? Glass sponges!

Glass sponges are incredible at capturing environmental DNA (eDNA), the genetic material shed by organisms into the water. With the ability to filter up to 10,000 litres of water daily, sponges offer a non-invasive way to monitor hard-to-reach habitats. By analyzing this eDNA, researchers have identified the presence of diverse species, including seasonal visitors such as basking sharks and pilot whales.

Who knew sea sponges and routine equipment maintenance would be such a winning research combination?