Advancing non-invasive marine biodiversity assessment in the Black Sea, researchers and project partners recently convened in the coastal waters of Çamburnu, Sürmene, Türkiye, to execute comprehensive Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) monitoring protocols as part of the WatchReefFish project.

Building upon the standardized methodology frameworks established during the project's international training initiatives, the recent field deployment at Çamburnu focused on fine-tuning equipment calibration, optimal camera positioning, and deployment parameters under real Black Sea marine conditions. Operating along the rugged Trabzon coastline, the research team successfully tested and synchronized BRUV hardware to ensure high-resolution data capture for reef fish community structures, abundance estimation, and species identification.

This localized deployment marks a critical step in operationalizing non-invasive monitoring techniques across partner regions. By utilizing standardized BRUV configurations alongside complementary approaches like Underwater Visual Census (UVC) and environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling, the WatchReefFish initiative continues to build a robust, comparable baseline for assessing coastal reef ecosystems. The data gathered from Sürmene will directly feed into the project's shared analytical frameworks, enhancing regional conservation strategies and bolstering transparent public reporting through upcoming community events and digital platforms.