Ocean Tracking Network

Polly, one of OTN's Slocum gliders, was recently equipped with a Rockland Scientific Microrider.

This microturbulence sensor is mounted on top of the glider, transforming it into a “Microrider glider” (try saying that 5x fast 😏). It can detect tiny variations in water movement, helping researchers understand how different layers of the ocean mix.

This mission is carried out each spring in coordination with Dalhousie University physical oceanographer Dr. Ruth Musgrave, who supplies the Microrider instrument and collaborates with OTN on these deployments.

Operating alongside a Wave Glider, this mission will link wind and wave conditions to vertical mixing processes off the Scotian Shelf, which are key to better understanding ocean dynamics.

Don't miss out on this free webinar happening on Thursday!

Pacific salmon are at record high abundances in the Pacific Ocean. Yet numerous stocks are in decline and near extinction, particularly in their southern distribution, threatening biodiversity, fisheries and food security in British Columbia. A suite of physical and management ‘barriers’ is part of the problem. The solutions need to be evidence-based, and the science needs to be co-produced to influence salmon management decision-making.🐟

Join us on June 11 at 12 PM for a seminar with Dr. Scott Hinch, moderated by Jason Hwang, where you’ll learn about new cutting-edge collaborative research involving ‘fish-friendlier’ fisheries and passage infrastructure with outcomes that are reducing barriers to salmon recovery.

Register now: https://forestry.ubc.ca/events/science-based-solutions-for-barriers-to-salmon-recovery-webinar/

‼️ Closing soon! Submit your abstracts by June 15! https://event.fourwaves.com/otnsymposium2026/submission

📣 Call for abstracts!

Abstract submissions are now open for the 2026 OTN Symposium, taking place November 9–12, 2026 in Halifax, Nova Scotia.We invite submissions for posters, speed talks, oral presentations, panels, and/or workshops.

Submit your abstract by June 15: https://event.fourwaves.com/otnsymposium2026/submission

🌊🐟 Happy ! This year’s theme, “Strong Marine Protected Areas for Our Blue Planet,” highlights the global push toward protecting 30% of our oceans by 2030 (30x30).

We’re proud to partner with Fisheries and Oceans Canada on a number of Marine Protected Area (MPA) monitoring initiatives. This includes collaborative work with Mike Lawrence, a fisheries biologist at the St. Andrews Biological Station, who is using acoustic telemetry to track key fish species in the Musquash Estuary MPA in New Brunswick.

Understanding how fish move through this coastal ecosystem helps inform evidence-based management and strengthens accountability under global conservation commitments. This research is helping pinpoint where fish are most likely to be found — information that is critical for responding to marine pollution events and supporting long-term ecosystem protection.

Learn more: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/project/mike-lawrence/

🌊 Registration is now open for the 2026 OTN Symposium!

Join us November 9–12 in Halifax, Nova Scotia to connect with colleagues and explore the latest in aquatic tracking research. Register here: https://event.fourwaves.com/otnsymposium2026/registration

‼️ Reminder: Abstract submissions close June 15, so don’t miss your chance to share your work! Submit your abstract: https://event.fourwaves.com/otnsymposium2026/submission

🗓️ JUNE STUDY HALL SCHEDULE!

Tune into OTN’s study hall on Thursdays to explore data analysis tools, methods and solutions with the OTN data team and peers from around the globe!

Learn more: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/study-hall/

Science stretching across the Atlantic! 🌊

Last month, Iago Gradin from our telemetry ops team travelled to Brazil to attend the All-Atlantic Ocean Research and Innovation Alliance (AAORIA) forum. AAORIA is an ocean science diplomacy initiative connecting countries on both sides of the Atlantic to advance science that supports ocean policy, governance, and management at local, regional, and international scales.

Iago shared a presentation on OTN and our equipment loaner program, and also joined a panel discussion on ocean technology insights. The forum brought together an enthusiastic group focused on building connections and sharing ocean science across the Atlantic.

It’s World Fish Migration Day! 🐟

With this year’s theme, "We are river people," we want to give a shoutout to the Riverine Acoustic Fish Telemetry (RAFT) network!

RAFT’s projects have been tracking how key species, including invasive carp and lake sturgeon, move through the Mississippi River Basin. Last year, RAFT officially became an OTN node, adding more than 1,500 receivers and 16,000 acoustic transmitters to our global network. This enables researchers across the network, such as those working in places like the Gulf of Mexico and Lake Michigan, to cross-match detections and track tagged fish across much broader habitat ranges.

We love having river people like those at RAFT in our network! Here’s to working together to build promising futures for migratory fish!

Learn more about RAFT: https://usgs.gov/apps/raft

📸 1: Jacob Harrison, Hanna Lavin, and Amelia Finnell (USFWS Carterville FWCO) with a 90lb Lake Sturgeon caught and tagged below Mississippi River Lock and Dam 22. Photo Credit: USFWS Carterville FWCO

📸 2: Team of biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources tagging invasive carp on the upper Mississippi River near La Crosse, Wisconsin. Photo Credit: Brad Morris, USGS.

📸 3: Team of biologists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, U.S. Geological Survey, Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources tagging a Lake Sturgeon to assess fish passage at Lock and Dam 5 on the upper Mississippi River. Photo Credit: Andrea Fritts, USGS.

📸 4: Amanda Milde (USGS), Judy Denzer (lockmaster, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Lock and Dam 5), and Carli Wagner (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources) with an American Paddlefish being tagged to assess fish passage at Lock and Dam 5. Photo credit: Andrea Fritts, USGS.

Our director of data operations, Jon Pye, has accepted a nomination to co-chair the AniBOS Data Management Committee, joining an active international team working to advance how animal-borne ocean data are processed, standardized, and shared across the global community. 🌊

AniBOS (Animal-Borne Ocean Sensors) is part of the GOOS Global Ocean Observing System and represents a truly innovative approach to ocean observing—using bio-logging technologies to turn marine animals into data collectors in some of the most remote and under-sampled regions of the global ocean.

It’s a great example of the kind of international collaboration and scientific expertise driving new ways of understanding our changing oceans.

Learn more: https://anibos.com/

📸: Southern elephant seal - Clive McMahon | Green sea turtle - Robert Harcourt

🌊 A glimpse into the Banc-des-Américains Marine Protected Area (MPA)

Located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence along the Gaspé Peninsula, the Banc-des-Américains MPA stretches roughly 35 km from Cap Gaspé to Bonaventure Island. Beneath the surface, it protects rich seafloor habitats that support a wide diversity of marine life.

In 2025, an innovative acoustic telemetry project was launched to better understand how species use this protected area, with a focus on Atlantic wolffish and American lobster. A distinctive aspect of the project is its field approach, combining boat-based receiver deployments with scientific diving to tag wolffish directly underwater.

Using a network of 50 loaned OTN acoustic receivers, combined with 47 existingFisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) receivers, researchers can track movements in remarkable detail—revealing where animals go, how long they stay, and which habitats are most important to them.

These insights will help assess the effectiveness of the MPA, strengthen long-term monitoring efforts, and support future conservation and management decisions. 🪸

📸: Laélien Bassi (DFO/MPO)