56 
I 
Abstract — A stereo-video baited 
camera system (BotCam) has been de- 
veloped as a fishery-independent tool 
to monitor and study deepwater fish 
species and their habitat. During test- 
ing, BotCam was deployed primar- 
ily in water depths between 100 and 
300 m for an assessment of its use 
in monitoring and studying Hawai- 
ian bottomfish species. Details of the 
video analyses and data from the pilot 
study with BotCam in Hawai i are 
presented. Multibeam bathymetry and 
backscatter data were used to delin- 
eate bottomfish habitat strata, and 
a stratified random sampling design 
was used for BotCam deployment loca- 
tions. Video data were analyzed to 
assess relative fish abundance and 
to measure fish size composition. 
Results corroborate published depth 
ranges and zones of the target species, 
as well as their habitat preferences. 
The results indicate that BotCam is 
a promising tool for monitoring and 
studying demersal fish populations 
associated with deepwater habitats 
to a depth of 300 m, at mesohabitat 
scales. BotCam is a flexible, nonex- 
tractive, and economical means to 
better understand deepwater eco- 
systems and improve science-based 
ecosystem approaches to management. 
Manuscript submitted 19 March 2010. 
Manuscript accepted 25 October 2010. 
Fish. Bull. 109:56-67 (2011). 
The views and opinions expressed 
or implied in this article are those of the 
author (or authors) and do not necessarily 
reflect the position of the National 
Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA. 
BotCam: a baited camera system for 
nonextractive monitoring of bottomfish species 
Daniel Merritt (contact author ) 1 Michael Parke 3 
Mary K. Donovan 1 Kevin Wong 3 
Christopher Kelley 2 Jeffrey C. Drazen 4 
Lynn Waterhouse 2 
Email address for contact author: Daniel.Merritt@noaa.gov 
1 Joint Institute for Marine and 
Atmospheric Research 
University of Hawaii, and 
NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division 
1000 Pope Rd., MSB 312 
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 
2 Hawaii Undersea Research Laboratory (HURL) 
1000 Pope Rd., MSB 303 
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 
The ability to monitor stocks targeted 
by a fishery in order to understand 
the effects of regulatory measures, 
such as spatial or temporal fishing 
closures, is important to stakeholders. 
An understanding of species composi- 
tion, age- and size-class distributions, 
habitat use, and other population 
parameters is critical for developing 
resource management programs and 
for monitoring their effectiveness 
(Jennings, 2001). However, acquisition 
of data for stock assessments within, 
and adjacent to, marine protected 
areas (MPAs) may be compromised 
by restrictions on extractive sampling 
or fishery-dependent data. Further, 
monitoring deepwater species is chal- 
lenging because of limitations (both 
logistical and regulatory) on diving 
in deep water; catch-and-release, or 
other nonlethal techniques typically 
are used in shallow water. Because 
deepwater fisheries have developed 
rapidly over the last few years, it is 
important to develop reliable, non- 
extractive, and fisheries-independent 
methods for stock assessment and 
monitoring that will enable manag- 
ers to assess fishery impacts, evaluate 
MPAs, and implement ecosystem- 
based management (Roberts, 2002). 
Camera systems provide a fisheries- 
independent and nonextractive tool 
for monitoring fish stocks, associated 
3 NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center 
Coral Reef Ecosystem Division 
2570 Dole St. 
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 
4 Department of Oceanography, 
University of Hawaii 
1000 Pope Rd., MSB 
Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 
communities, and habitat preferenc- 
es. Baited camera systems have been 
used in a number of fisheries habitat 
studies (Ellis and DeMartini, 1995; 
Gledhill et al., 1996; Priede and Mer- 
rett, 1996; Francour et al., 1999; Wil- 
lis et al., 2000; Cappo et al., 2003). 
Most of these studies involved deep- 
water deployments (>1500 m) for the 
study of deep-sea scavengers or they 
involved deployments in relatively 
shallow waters (<100 m) as a supple- 
ment to scuba surveys (Willis et al., 
2000; Watson et ah, 2007). Currently, 
there is a need to develop systems for 
use at intermediate depths. 
In Hawai’i, the bottomfish fishery 
targets snappers, groupers, and jacks 
that inhabit waters down to 400 m 
around the archipelago. The most im- 
portant commercial species live below 
100 m and are often referred to as 
the “deep 7” (WPRFMC, 2007). Six of 
these are snappers that include Etelis 
coruscans (flame snapper, onaga), Ete- 
lis carbunculus (ruby snapper, ehu), 
Pristipomoides zonatus (oblique-band- 
ed snapper, gindai), Pristipomoides 
sieboldii (lavender snapper, kalekale), 
Pristipomoides filamentosus (pink 
snapper, opakapaka), and Aphareus 
rutilans (silvermouth snapper, lehi). 
The seventh species is an endemic 
grouper called Epinephelus quer- 
nus (Hawaiian grouper, hapu'upu'u) 
