Why does this matter? Many marine organisms’ migratory routes remain largely uncharted given the difficulty of operating tracking technology in the open ocean. However, recent developments in acoustic telemetry technology could close the data gap and accelerate marine conservation efforts.

According to the ETN, the technology has only recently “progressed to enable the tracking of animals over larger and longer time scales,” suggesting a watershed moment may have been reached where tracking aquatic life becomes increasingly accessible, accurate, and comprehensive.

Locational data gathered by these acoustic trackers can inform sustainable fishing quotas, the formation of Marine Protected Areas, and mitigate the impact of offshore wind farm operations on migrating fish populations. Cod, for example, feed and spawn in the vicinity of North Sea wind farms at certain times of the year.

A deeper understanding of these feeding and spawning patterns could enable wind farm operators to time expansion and maintenance work with the life cycle of the cod population.

Expanding marine monitoring networks is particularly urgent as rising ocean temperatures disrupt established migratory routes. The iconic South Africa Sardine Run, which is integral to the Atlantic marine food web with penguins, seabirds, sea lions, dolphins and sharks all reliant on the annual migration, is estimated to attract sardine biomass less than a quarter the size of its 4 million tonne peak recorded in 2002.

The cold-water sardines are also appearing later and at inconsistent times throughout the year as overfishing places further strain on the population. These shifts in sardine distribution are leading to population decline among the sardines’ predators, such as Cape gannets and African penguins.

Improved monitoring of the ecologically critical sardine population could help inform regional conservation efforts and justify stricter fishing quotas.

A study published in March 2024 examining 2,572 fish populations across 146 species also found that fish species are migrating towards the poles in response to rising ocean temperatures, leading to population declines.

The researchers argue that fish “experiencing rapid range shifts could be more vulnerable to climatic change and therefore should be carefully assessed for conservation status”.

Acoustic telemetry technology could significantly improve the monitoring of threatened fish populations, enabling accurate assessment of conservation status and a more nuanced understanding of the impact rising ocean temperatures have on migratory routes.

Alongside acoustic telemetry, other ocean monitoring technologies are evolving rapidly and offering unparalleled access to live marine data. For instance, marine tech firm Sofar’s solar battery-powered Spotter Platform delivers real-time surface and sub-surface data for industrial and marine research purposes, including wind speed, wave spectra, currents, water acidity, and atmospheric pressure.

The company’s mission, echoing the core principles of the STRAITS initiative, is to “close the ocean data gap.” Closing this gap and accelerating conservation efforts will require the deployment of an array of ocean monitoring technologies, such as flexible, real-time data networks like Sofar, which can supplement acoustic telemetry systems by adding detailed climatic and atmospheric metrics to contextualise telemetry’s locational data.