NIWA’s new underwater camera provides the big picture

The ability for scientists to see what’s on the sea floor just got a whole lot brighter with the invention of a multiple underwater camera system and some ingenious thinking at NIWA.

The ability for scientists to see what’s on the seafloor just got a whole lot brighter with the invention of Swathcam, an underwater camera system providing crystal clear visibility.

It is able to distinguish between species compared to other technology such as echosounders, which bounce sound waves off different animals. Suspended from NIWA’s research vessel Kaharoa II, SwathCam is towed through the water about two to three metres off the seabed, sending high-resolution live video back on board for viewing in real time.

The system was the idea of NIWA marine ecologist Dr Mark Morrison and was built by NIWA’s Marine Technology Group led by Will Quinn.

Read about it in April's Seafood New Zealand Magazine.

NIWA’s new SwathCam provides the big picture