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An underwater camera is giving researchers and the public a front-row view of rarely seen North Atlantic marine ecosystems.

It’s part of a unique marine habitat restoration project underway in Newfoundland and Labrador’s Placentia Bay.

Located in Fox Harbour, the below-surface camera captures two-minute recordings every hour, documenting marine life as it moves among concrete reef balls installed by Fisheries and Marine Institute researchers last year.

Cunners, crab, lobster, sea urchins, kelp and algae are among the species already observed around the artificial reef.

The recordings are uploaded to an online visual library and are available for public viewing, as well as through the successful SmartAtlantic initiative. The dataset is creating a long-term record of the habitat's development.

The camera is part of a broader research effort using sonar surveys, remotely operated vehicles, divers and long-term monitoring to understand how marine life responds to the restored habitat.

“Healthy oceans benefit everyone,” said Mark Santos, a fisheries technologist with the Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources. “This project is helping us better understand how marine habitats recover and how we can use science to make better decisions that protect our oceans for the future.”

The monitoring system is expected to remain in place for up to nine years, providing researchers with valuable information about how artificial reefs develop over time.

The project brings together expertise from the Marine Institute’s Centre for Sustainable Aquatic Resources, Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research and Centre for Technology, Environment and Design.

The Fox Harbour reef ball online camera observatory is publicly accessible, allowing anyone with an internet connection to watch the ecosystem develop.

Viewers can watch the reef come to life on SmartAtlantic.ca.

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To arrange an interview with Mark Santos or for more information, please contact Jodi Cooke, communications officer, Fisheries and Marine Institute, Memorial University, at (709) 757-0764, (709) 327-7578 or jodi.cooke@mi.mun.ca.