Abstract
Remote underwater video, established in marine ecosystems, has infiltrated the toolbox of researchers in estuarine and freshwater systems more recently. Arguably, the greatest limiting factor in the application of underwater video for surveying many freshwater and estuarine ecosystems is water clarity. Indeed some systems are perpetually turbid while others are intermittently turbid in response to flow events or tidal fluctuations. We used Baited Remote Underwater Video Stations (BRUVS) to survey the fish assemblage in a turbid tropical estuary on Cape York in northern Australia. Poor water clarity in the upper estuary prevented the identification of fishes that were not close to the baits. In an attempt to address this issue, we tested the attractiveness of two bait types and unbaited camera controls and employed Underwater Dark Channel Prior (UDCP) to enhance image quality and enable more accurate identification of species with a greater degree of certainty. In addition we present the outcomes of deploying a camera within the immediate area of interest of a large estuarine reptile.