Ocean Tracking Network

05/26/2026

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.

05/23/2026

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.

05/19/2026

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

05/12/2026

🌊 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)

05/07/2026

We were excited to have our Director of Data Operations, Jon Pye, and Data Acquisition Coordinator, Mati Gray, participate in the kick-off meeting of the Multi-disciplinary Ocean Sensing for Adaptive International Conservation (MOSAIC) project in Belfast last month. This new cross-border initiative brings together 11 partners across Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Canada.

Learn more about OTN's involvement: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/connecting-science-across-borders-otn-joins-the-launch-of-mosaic/

Loughs Agency
Special EU Programmes Body - SEUPB
Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment
Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs

05/05/2026

MAY STUDY HALL SCHEDULE! 🗓️

Every Thursday, the OTN data team works with peers from across the globe to answer telemetry questions and help problem solve! These informal sessions can be a valuable resource for anyone interested in aquatic telemetry.

Join us! https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/study-hall/

05/04/2026

📣 We’re hiring a Glider Team Lead!

In this role, you’ll help ensure that OTN’s underwater glider operations remain safe, innovative, and mission-ready.

If you have experience working with underwater gliders and are looking to take the next step into a leadership role, we’d love to hear from you!

Apply by May 8: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/were-hiring-glider-team-lead/

05/01/2026

We’ve loved highlighting the amazing work of OTN researchers, and, now it’s your turn!

📢 Submit your research profile and help us showcase the diversity and impact of our community. https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/research-profiles/

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

04/29/2026

🌊 How are elasmobranchs using Ireland’s waters?

Dr. Danielle Orrell at College Cork is using acoustic and satellite tracking to study species such as flapper skate, tope shark, small‑spotted catshark, and porbeagle in areas that overlap with offshore wind development.

With support from OTN’s equipment loaner program, her team is helping to fill key movement data gaps in the Celtic and Irish Seas.

Learn more about this important work: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/project/danielle-orrell/

📸: The CETUS Project

04/22/2026

🎉 Since 2017, our Tag! You’re It! conservation financing program with Big Spruce Brewing has been turning beer into impact, and we’re excited to share our latest recipients!

Each year, we collaborate on a special‑edition beer that gives back, with a portion of proceeds supporting coastal and aquatic conservation in the Maritimes.

The current release, a hazy IPA showcasing a leatherback sea turtle, is helping fund three organizations making waves in their communities and across the region:

💙 St. Margaret's Bay Stewardship Association
💙 Jijuktu'kwejk Watershed Alliance
💙 Canadian Sea Turtle Network

Cheers to conservation, community, and collaboration. 🍻🌎
Learn more: https://oceantrackingnetwork.org/tag-youre-it-funding-2026/