News
Australian Marine Parks
22 February, 2023
BLUEY and BRIZO patrol Australian Marine Parks for a month.
Ocius Bluebottles BLUEY and BRIZO have just completed 32 days on the water, as a trial, patrolling Two Rocks Marine Park and Jurien Marine Park both off the coast of Western Australia. Ocius Bluebottles are seven metre fiberglass yachts that are fully autonomous and powered by solar, wind and wave motion. They don't use any fossil fuels.
BLUEY and BRIZO colour inside the boxes.
Utilising a combination of radar and high-definition camera tracking, BLUEY and BRIZO identified 24 recreational vessels fishing inside these national parks. By way of comparison, last year a total of 15 infringement notices were issued for the whole year.
A significant number of boats detected on radar in and around Two Rocks Marine Park.
Ocius worked closely with the Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water to ensure all footage captured was sent in real time to the department for action. Minister Tanya Plibersek is quoted as saying;
These new surveillance measures help to protect the plants and animal species in the marine parks including Western Rock Lobsters. The annual migration of the Western rock lobster from the coast to deeper waters is known as the ‘whites run’ and attracts thousands of licensed cray fishers who target this prized species. To make sure the species survives, some areas in Marine Parks are designated “no take zones”. Stopping illegal fishing protects the species and protects legal fishers who do the right thing, and who rely on lobsters for their livelihood
No-take zones are vital to protect threatened species, and also mean that surrounding areas see increases in fish stocks. Whilst most fishers do the right thing and stay in legal fishing zones, we aren’t afraid to crack down on those doing the wrong thing by fishing in the ‘no take’ areas. Fishing is not allowed in the National Park Zones of Australian Marine Parks. The new Bluebottle vessel technology will enable large marine areas to be monitored over longer periods of time.
The depth chart produced over the entire 32 day mission.