Development of all-in-one-type deep-sea camera for monitoring Red Snow-crab habitats

Abstract

This paper presents the details of the development of an underwater camera for monitoring the habitats of red snow-crabs. Because the red snow crabs inhabit the deep waters in the east sea of South Korea, where the depth is approximately between 1,000 m and 1,800 m, and underwater camera that can endure high water pressures is required. Typically, most of the deep-sea cameras are attached to underwater vehicles; however, underwater-vehicle operation is expensive and cannot be used for long-term monitoring. To solve this problem, we designed an underwater camera composed of a pressure housing with all devices for video recording integrated within the housing. The video recording was conducted with the cooperation of the Gyeongbuk Red Snow-crab Society, whose members catch the red snow crabs. The cameras are attached to the fishing traps for catching the red snow crabs, and submerged into the deep by the fishermen. The camera records video periodically using a timer-based control, for a continuous period of ten days.