Ocean Networks Canada’s (ONC) underwater cameras allow us to make visual observations in ocean environments that are difficult to access or study on a regular basis.

Depending on the needs of researchers, these cameras can be used for a variety of scientific purposes, including observing previously unseen behaviour by fish and invertebrates, long-term monitoring of biodiversity levels under ocean changing conditions, and following the colonization and ecological succession at experiments placed in the deep sea. ONC’s cameras are constantly monitoring deep-sea hydrothermal vents and a submarine canyon in the northeast Pacific Ocean and coastal environments off British Columbia (Saanich Inlet, Strait of Georgia, Discovery Passage, Chatham Sound and Douglas Channel) and in the Arctic (Cambridge Bay).

These videos captured by our deep sea cameras were shared on social media over the last couple of months.

With so much video footage being captured every day, we need as many pairs of eyes watching these important visual data as possible, which is where citizen science comes in. A few years ago, the keen eyes of a citizen scientist in Minnesota witnessed a crab migration unfolding live on one of our cameras, which led to research suggesting a possible link between the crab’s annual reproductive cycle and this migratory behaviour. And in 2013, then 14 year-old Kirill Dudko was watching the Barkley Canyon video feed when he noticed an elephant seal eat a hagfish, vacuum-style. This turned out to be the first sighting of an elephant seal feeding at this depth, 894 metres!

We invite citizen scientists like you to make discoveries by watching our live video feeds or searching through our video archive on SeaTube. Let us know if you see something unusual or interesting, or if you have a question. You never know what new discoveries you might make!