Using high spatial resolution satellite imagery (PlanetScope) to count moored marine vessels in desolation sound marine provincial park

The purpose of this study is to understand the number of vessels moored near eelgrass habitat, a critical plant species in the park threatened by boating activities.

Twelve trap cameras were set up to capture marine vessel activities during the summer, and filtering and manual counting were conducted to ensure the absolute accuracy of the data. Comparisons are made between the marine vessel counts from trap cameras and satellite imagery for each day throughout the period of study. The results indicate that the use of high spatial resolution spaceborne imageries to monitor the number of marine vessels is applicable and demonstrates 100% accuracy in the range of five undercounts or overcounts.