BRAVO Network

Biotactic Research And Videography Observatories

We began using underwater videography to monitor fish back in 1989 and things have changed a lot since then. Using our invaluable experience, we now design, build and supply cabled underwater fish and wildlife monitoring systems that are ideal for monitoring fishways (for example see Node 10) and any other artificial or natural underwater habitat. These units are self-cleaning and designed for long-term, semi-permanent or permanent installation in freshwater and marine environments. Typical hardware and software configurations consist of 1- 4 live underwater streaming video camera/sensor pack systems that automatically filter, collect and transfer novel and interesting fish activity for outreach, education and research.

Our network and monitoring equipment are being continuously refined and improved and have the following general features:

Self-cleaning underwater camera systems (Patent Pending)
30+ metre (>100 feet) waterproof conduit and connectors for shallow or deep installation in fresh or saltwater.
1000 line color high-resolution video (1/3 SONY Super HAD CCD sensor) with infrared illumination at night (infrared LEDs)
Biological data are algorithmically filtered and analyzed and streamed live
If requested by our clients, all video and all sensor data will be continuously uploaded live to the internet and to our central BRAVO computers for secondary biological analysis including species identification, fish counts, abundance estimates, behavioral trend analysis, inter-annual ecological relationships, thermal shifts in activity, responses to effluent, phenological trends, spawning and other ecologically significant activities
Water and air temperature stored every 30 seconds and continuously uploaded to dedicated websites
Low maintenance self cleaning glass lens with variable duty-cycles depending on water conditions and nutrient levels

These fish monitoring systems collect data using motion detection to allow identification of fish species, counts and measurements of fish abundance. Archive video can be automatically posted and the live stream is hosted by Biotactic.com (ARCHIVES here).

Fish monitoring systems operate automatically using a DSL internet connection, AC/DC power and secure ventilated compartments. Applications include scientific research, agency-based fish and wildlife monitoring, marine biological applications, aquaculture, underwater surveillance, education and basic fun. Since 2005 our underwater fish monitoring network has been used to achieve long-term research objectives related to inter-annual variation in fish migration patterns, migration timing and habitat utilization on a global scale.

The video collected automatically by the BRAVO system is particularly useful for long-term research objectives related to inter-annual variation in fishway counts, fish migration patterns, migration timing, habitat utilization and reproductive behavior. The system has also been proven to be useful for monitoring species at risk, invasive species and observing behavior of benthic organisms such as mussels, crayfish, diving ducks, turtles, various spawning behaviour and wide range of fish and aquatic mammals like otters.

Installation Options