An Alternative Method for Studying Fish in Shallow Lagoons via an Inexpensive Camera System

The application of multimedia technologies in research and education has increased in popularity over the last decade. Digital video cameras are one of many new multimedia technologies used for studying fish behavior and assemblages in remote field locations. We assessed the effectiveness of using an underwater camera to observe fish in a California Central Coast lagoon. Thirty-minute underwater video samples were collected and later viewed. At each fish occurrence a still image from the video was taken and analyzed for species identification, if possible. In this turbid environment, we found the camera could provide adequate observations for educational purposes, but it might not provide consistent enough observations for scientific research or resource management purposes.