A word from our PSO team:
One of the best views of the ocean onboard the vessel is from the PSO (Protected Species Observer) tower, which stands about 19 meters above the water. The RPS PSO team consists of five onboard biologists that monitor, collect data and mitigate for dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and even a couple of protected birds, in order to minimize any potential impact of the survey on wildlife. On the tower, PSOs use handheld binoculars, Bigeye binoculars and DSLR cameras to document all animal sightings. From before sunrise to after sunset, there are always two PSOs watching for our oceans’ protected sea life. We are ready to pause survey operations when one of the aforementioned critters approach or are seen within certain ranges to the vessel equipment. In addition to keeping our “eyes” on the water, there is also always one of us listening for mammal vocalizations using a PAM (Passive Acoustic Monitoring) in the main lab 24/7 during the survey. The PAM system consists of a six-hydrophone towed cable and a processing system that visualizes the sounds in the water. The combination of watching and listening provides a highly effective combination of tools to detect the presence of ocean life. Our team of biologists love their jobs as stewards of all the amazing megafauna out here on the water and, speaking for myself, I can’t think of anything better than getting to go into the office on the ocean.
Photo credit: PSO team