The water quality buoy also uses an acoustic telemetry receiver that collects data on fish that have been tagged with a transmitter for research. Sanctuary staff collect and look at the data in partnership with the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and the Mid-Atlantic Acoustic Telemetry Observation System. The data helps sanctuary staff and partners better understand what fish species are in the sanctuary, including any rare, endangered, or threatened species. In 2022, the receiver detected 864 readings from 13 different fish.