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Equipment for University of Victoria PhD research lost at sea

PVC frame with 4 hydrophones and camera last seen off Sidney
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The lost scientific instrument is a PVC frame ~1.2m high with 4 hydrophones and a camera. It was deployed on the ocean floor by Graham’s rock off Roberts Bay in Sidney but could be currently drifting or washed up on a beach. (Xavier Mouy photo)

A University of Victoria PhD student is appealing to beachcombers and boaters to keep their eyes out for some scientific equipment lost at sea.

Acoustics student Xavier Mouy is working on a project to catalog fish sounds along the B.C. coast, monitoring fishes over long time periods and geographic areas, to create a non-intrusive tool for marine conservation and fisheries management.

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A key piece of that monitoring – a PVC frame with hydrophones and camera – was deployed in Roberts Bay, Sidney, on Jan. 22 and when Mouy returned a week later to retrieve it, it was gone.

The 1.2-metre PVC frame, attached to a line with two orange Scotsman surface buoys, was deployed on the ocean floor by Graham’s rock off Roberts Bay in Sidney.

“We circled around the location with an echo sounder and submersible but couldn’t find it,” said Mouy. “We came back with divers too and they couldn’t find it.”

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The lost scientific instrument is crucial for his PhD research and will set his project back.

“I’d have to find some money to buy another hydrophone. The camera is designed by myself; it is not the most expensive but it is the most time consuming,” Mouy said. “Ideally, I’d just love to get this one back.”

If found please call 250-885-2347 or email xaviermouy@uvic.ca.


 
keri.coles@blackpress.ca

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The lost scientific instrument is a PVC frame ~1.2m high with 4 hydrophones and a camera. It was deployed on the ocean floor by Graham’s rock off Roberts Bay in Sidney but could be currently drifting or washed up on a beach. (Xavier Mouy photo)