We have begun our depth stratified trawl transect that will
take us from the warm NE Atlantic waters of the Rockall Basin, up and over the Wyville Thomson Ridge
SAC and then down into the Arctic-influenced water of the
Faroe-Bank Channel. We have begun the
transect some 30 miles east of Rosemary Bank
Seamount NCMPA and have so far undertaken a
line of trawls at depths of approx.1800m, 1600m, and 1200m working north.
We have encountered diverse assemblages of fish at each depth, two of which are
shown below:
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Fish assemblage from 1200m depth
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Fish assemblage from 1800m depth
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Survey Fun Fact:
There are two families of deep-sea, squaliform, sharks that are able to glow in the dark; Kitefin sharks (Dalatidae) and Lantern sharks (Etmopteridae). This phenomenon is also known as bioluminescence!
Read more here:
Glow in the dark sharks
Written By Jim Drewery & Ellen Last
