The Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment (P-ONE) is a proposed neutrino telescope located off
the coast of Vancouver Island, Canada. With a planned instrumented volume of over one cubic
kilometer, P-ONE aims to measure high-energy neutrinos to gain further insights into astrophysical
accelerators and the cosmos. However, the dynamic ocean environment presents challenges,
such as changing ocean currents influencing the detector geometry and the bioluminescent light
background. The P-ONE collaboration, in association with Ocean Networks Canada (ONC), is
developing durable deep-sea detector systems to overcome these challenges. In 2018 and 2020,
respectively, the pathfinder experiments STRAW (STRings for Absorption length in Water) and
STRAW-b were deployed to characterize and monitor the optical properties and the background
light caused by bioluminescence and $^{40}$K in the Cascadia Basin. These pathfinders include three
strings with diverse instruments such as spectrometers, LiDARs, cameras, and early prototype
optical modules. An overview of recent findings from the STRAW and STRAW-b measurements
will be presented.