In 2003, China Argo Project deployed some Argo profiling floats in the Northwestern Pacific. The floats were expendable and moved with the current. Two of the floats drifted with the current separately to the areas near of Bislig Bay and Davao Bay of Mindanao, Philippines, and  were found and dredged up by the local fishermen.

We soon reported this information to International Argo Science Team and Argo Information Centre. We hoped those 2 floats could be recovered through suitable ways, for the purpose that the Argo Project Investigators and the floats Manufacturers could better understand the properties of the float, and that the floats could be redeployed after testing, to full use the limited float recourses and get more Argo data.

International Argo Group and IAST members answered our request timely. Particularly, Prof. John Gould and Prof. Kensuke Takeuchi told us the relevant persons to contact with. Soon, we contacted with Prof. Cesar Villanoy in the Marine Science Institute of University of the Philippines, and requested them help us look for the two floats. They found one float in a fishing village near Bislig Bay, and took the float to University of Philippines in Manila. Later, under the assistance from the Foreign Affairs Department of the China State Oceanic Administration and the Chinese Consulate in Manila of Philippines, the Marine Science Institute of University of the Philippines helped box and transport the float to China.

On 12 July 2004, the float arrived at the Xiaoshan International Airport in Hangzhou, China. The duration from the float deployed on 1 March 2003, drifted into Bislig Bay on 19 October 2003, and to the day back to China, is 289 days.

A test and check was made to the float, and all the technical properties are in normal conditions. The battery voltage is 14.3 v, within the designed range for observing profile. The sensors (fig.1) without any other material attached; the paper label on the float’s surface without any damage; but the float bottom showing some corrosion from seawater (fig. 2). We have replaced the rubber plugs on the float bottom. We will reset the float’s Argos Platform Number and WMO Number, and then redeploy the float in the Northwestern Pacific (fig. 3) again.

Fig.1 Sensors of the float	Fig.3 The recovered float
Fig.2 The bladder on the bottom

We express heartfelt thanks for the support and assistance from home and abroad, to the International Argo Program, to China Argo Project, and to the successful recovery of the float. The successful recovery of the float made us believed: International Argo Program has got the support from coastal governments, scientific and educational agencies and the public. We also expect that this successful recovery of the float could become a good example for more drifted floats to be recovered and reused when found by coastal fishermen. We believe the effort from the coastal governments and scientists will build up the Global Argo network as scheduled, and play its expected role.