Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?

Who watches the watchers? Thanks to the newest addition of a waterproof web camera to the underwater nature trail on Stora Hästö, the answer is anyone with an internet connection! However, this is not the first of its kind at this site. In mid-June 2006, the University of Applied Sciences in Turku (Turun Ammattikorkeakoulu) installed the first underwater camera as part of the Nature-IT programme, which was designed to produce live broadcasts of real time images of archipelago nature online. Unfortunately, at the end of the summer 2007, the camera fell prey to the waves and winds which occasionally batter the western shore of the island, situated approximately 5 km southwest of Korpoström. The new camera was installed earlier this year in spring in shallow water (approximately 1.5 metres), looking onto a bush of bladderwrack/ rakkolevä (Fucus vesiculosus). Filamentous algae are also visible covering the bedrock in the background. Online viewers have already spotted three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) darting about, as well as sea snails slowly crawling across the Perspex face plate. Like its predecessor, the assembly is ingenious in its simplicity, comprising a net camera sealed into a plastic waterproof box with a clear Perspex lid. A solar-powered unit on land delivers power to the camera via a waterproof cable. Live images are taken every ten seconds and images transmitted via arial to a web server: http://www.natureit.fi/site/hasto

The conditions could not have been better for my first fieldtrip of the year. Our first job was to check the webcam housing and move the bladderwrack bush so that it was in better focus. A cable visible in the online pictures after the first installation also needed to be moved out of shot. We spotted several fish species in the stones surrounding the camera, including inquisitive sticklebacks, a shy eelpout (Zoarces viviparus-kivinilkka) and some sand gobies/hietatokko (Pomatoschistus minutus). As I took photos of the camera inside its waterproof housing, I wondered if anyone online was watching us!

Hello, is there anybody in the web?

The rest of the first dive was spent photographing and checking the dive trail. Visibility was best at the deepest parts of the trail with many four-horned sculpins/ härkäsimppu (Myoxocephalus quadricornis) lurking on the bottom. These fish are easy to photograph, unlike the frustrating eelpout, which stay still until just before you push the shutter, leaving you with either a blur or just a photo of bare rock!

The second dive involved reassembling the dive trail. The concrete information plates are heavy (30 kg in air) but luckily we both had lifting bags. Each plate is attached to the bag, which is inflated from the diver’s regulator. Once the plate lifts gently off the bottom the diver can tow it to the desired spot. The underwater trail, including the snorkel path will be fully reassembled by the beginning of July. I consider myself fortunate to work as a marine biologist and diver in Metsähallitus, especially during the summer months in the Archipelago or Bothnian Seas. Although the weather isn’t always kind and the work may be hard, cold and wet, after a long day of sun, calm seas and good dives and good colleagues, we often joke that it doesn’t feel like work at all! It’s just another day in the “office”.

Underwater photographer needs a waterproof camera and a lots of patience.

Kevin O’Brien, Ph.D Meribiologi/Sukeltaja, Metsähallitus, Turku/Korpoström