A tiny, eight-pound submarine is taking science at the Bermuda Biological Station for Research even further into the ocean depths, allowing researchers to probe areas around Bermuda deemed unsafe for divers.

The VideoRay ROV (remotely operated vehicle) has also allowed BBSR scientists to join forces with the Department of Environmental Protection in an effort to protect fish which are particularly vulnerable to commercial fishing.

The submarine is one of the most compact ROVs on the market, and is equipped with video equipment and a manipulator arm that can collect small samples of sediment or corals.

?The ROV?s most important function is to do things that divers cannot or should not do,? said Dr. Joanna Pitt of BBSR?s Marine Environmental Programme. Scientists have been using the new ROV to conduct observations at deeper sites where divers cannot remain safely for more than five minutes, and at the sewage outfall on the South Shore.

?The ROV is so small and unobtrusive we can observe fishes without disturbing them,? Dr. Pitt said. In fact, the BBSR is now working with Dr. Brian Luckhurst of the Marine Resources Division of the Department of Environmental Protection.

The aim is to observe black grouper spawning aggregation near the edge of the Bermuda platform.

Species such as red hinds and other groupers, all of which are commercially important, spawn together in large groups at specific sites and are particularly vulnerable to fishing unless measures are put in place to protect them.

Spawning aggregations are under threat world-wide, Dr. Pitt said. ?The remote cameras of the ROV provide a unique opportunity to study these fishes.?

The ROV is also being incorporated into the BBSR?s marine education programme, with plans to use it for everything from university-level summer and semester courses to visiting high school groups and local school groups.

It is also expected to be the star of Saturday?s Marine Science Day open house at the BBSR.

Last month, the VideoRay research and development team, including the VideoRay president and an engineer from NASA Kennedy Space Centre, visited BBSR to use the deep ocean surrounding Bermuda as a testing location for their new ROV, ?Deep Blue?.

Deep Blue made a successful dive off the South Shore to 1,000 feet.