The National Marine Sanctuary Program was created in 1972 and is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Currently, these sanctuaries include over 18,000 square miles of water and marine habitats. There are plans to create a new sanctuary in the Northwest Hawaiian Islands, currently the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, encompassing nearly 120,000 square miles. Patrolling this large an area for illegal fishing and other activities presents many challenges.
The NMSP has numerous operational requirements that could be met using UAS technology. Staff regularly responds to animals in distress, such as whales that become entangled in fishing gear or marine debris. In such cases, it is often difficult to monitor the location of the animal for the extended period that may be required for response. The same is true for hazardous spills. It is sometimes necessary to track and measure sediment plumes caused by human activities, such as road construction and repair and dredging. Harmful algal blooms must be assessed and tracked to determine the threat they pose to resources and humans. The extent of damage caused by coral bleaching or vessel groundings can also be evaluated from the air. Vessel traffic monitoring is sometimes necessary to limit threats to migrating or congregating animals. Monitoring vessel activity, such as fishing, recreational boating, diving, and cargo transit is necessary to understand uses and threats to sanctuary resources.
The NMSP also has scientific needs in a number of areas that can be addressed by UAS flights with camera payloads. Resource characterization needs include:
- identification and measurement of shallow water habitat types;
- documentation influences of watersheds and other inputs that affect water quality;
- temporal and spatial patterns of habitat use by living resources (e.g., haul out areas); and
- population assessments for large animals, such as birds and marine mammals.
Representative monitoring requirements for the NMSP include:
- periodic collection of data along predetermined flight paths to count birds and marine mammals;
- overflights of known haul out and bird nesting areas;
- documenting changes in kelp canopy cover;
- determining the location and extent of potentially productive convergence zones or upwelling areas;
- determining spatial and temporal affects of runoff; and
- counting vessels and assessing human use patterns.
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