Moored underwater in the Santa Barbara Channel to monitor underwater noise for the National Atmospheric and Oceanographic Administration (NOAA) seven years ago, the expensive scientific device was considered to be lost, along with the valuable data it had collected, when the retrieval mechanism failed.
"The Navy helped recover it so that the valuable data would not be lost," explained Jim Stossel from the U.S. Naval Facilities engineering and expeditionary warfare center based at Port Hueneme.
A Naval team from Port Hueneme managed to locate the lost buoy in the Channel Islands, about 2500 feet below the surface.
A camera equipped ROV was deployed from the ship, which revealed the buoy had become entangled in ropes, hooks and other debris, possibly from fishing activity in the area.
With the buoy safely retrieved, the data will be reviewed and will aid regulatory agencies in marine mammal conservation efforts.
