Funded under DFO's Marine Conservation Targets Program, this optical imagery benthic survey captured 16 drift-camera transects in the St. Anns Bank Marine Protected Area (MPA - 4364 km2) and 2 coastal transects west of the MPA, Atlantic Canada from August 15-23, 2023. High-resolution still images (n=1941) were taken periodically throughout each transect, while continuous high-definition downward- (~9 hours) and forward-facing (~8.5 hours) video was collected simultaneously. Distance travelled and distance between still images (m) was calculated using ArcGIS tools. Field of view (FOV) was estimated by measuring the length and width of a subset of still images (n=500) in ImageJ2, using 10-cm lasers for scale. FOV was standardized for each reported altitude. Transects ranged from 754 m to 2.8 km in length (~22 km surveyed in total), collecting imagery for 20 minutes to just over 1 hour at a time, surveying depths from 17 to 144 m below chart datum. Transect locations were selected based on unique bathymetric features and benthoscapes as well as areas previously surveyed in 2015.

Cite this data as: Lawton P, Teed L. Near-seafloor drift transect video imagery and high-resolution digital still images from a 2023 survey in support of Marine Protected Area monitoring of St. Anns Bank, Atlantic Canada. Published September 2024. Coastal Ecosystems Science Division, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, St. Andrews, N.B.