DEEP SEA LIFE:

ON THE EDGE OF THE ABYSS

1
It is the special burden of marine conserva-
tionists that people can not easily see what
happens underwater. The sea remains inscrutable,
mysterious to most of us. On land we see the
effects of our activities and we are constantly
reminded of the need for action, but we see
only the surface of the sea.
Rodney Salm and John Clark (IUCN)

The oceans are the planet’s last great living

wilderness, man’s only remaining frontier on
earth, and perhaps his last chance to prove
himself a rational species.
John L. Culliney, Wilderness Conservation,
September – October 1990

Nature shows us only surfaces, but she

is a million fathoms deep.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)

It’s life, Jim, but not as we know it.

Bones McCoy, U.S.S. Enterprise
DEEP OCEANS: THE FINAL FRONTIER

he deep sea is the last great frontier on Earth. For hundreds of years people have

T pondered, debated and explored the vast depths of the oceans, yet our knowledge of
them barely skims the surface. Remarkably, though it is the largest ecosystem on
Earth,1 we have better maps of Mars than we do of our own planet’s seafloor.2 What little
light we have shone on the deep has illuminated life that was old when Rome fell and ancient
when Christopher Columbus rediscovered the Americas.3

We know that the deep sea is an environment of extremes – high pressures, freezing and
superheated water, and sparse food resources. Sunlight fades into almost complete darkness
only 600 meters from
the surface.1 The
consequent lack of The deep sea is no longer unspoiled
plants fueled debate
among scientists as to wilderness. The damaging effects
whether life existed at of human activities from bottom
all in the deep sea4
until the pioneering trawling to pollution can now be
voyage of the HMS
Challenger (1872-76)
seen in every ocean.
provided persuasive
evidence to the contrary. It was not until the 1960s that scientists began to realize that the
ocean depths are home to a variety of life approaching that of tropical rainforests.5 Some
researchers now suggest that the deep sea is the place on Earth where life began.

With improved technologies, scientists are better able to study the deep seas, and they are
making dramatic new discoveries almost routinely. We have learned that deep sea corals
attain ages best measured in centuries and millennia, and that some of the fish that swim
among them are far older than the oldest human. We have discovered unknown life forms
and creatures thought extinct since the time of the dinosaurs, and entire ecosystems that
get their energy from the center of the Earth rather than the Sun. And yet, we’ve only
explored a tiny fraction of the deep oceans.

The Gold Rush in the Blue Ocean

The deep ocean is no longer unspoiled wilderness. Improved technologies have allowed the
expansion of some of our activities into the deep sea. By far the largest current threat is from
destructive commercial fishing practices. Likened more to clear-cutting than fishing,
destructive trawling in particular has caused considerable damage to deep sea communities
on the continental slope and on undersea islands called seamounts. Trawling can destroy
centuries of coral and sponge growth in a single pass, and pulls to the surface myriad
unwanted animals that are simply thrown back dead or dying. Unfortunately, few laws and
regulations protect deep sea communities from bottom trawling. Virtually no protections at
all exist on the high seas – two thirds of the entire ocean – because they fall outside the
jurisdiction of any national government.

Fishing is not the only threat to the deep sea. The effects of contamination from land-based
toxic pollutants such as mercury, PCBs, and DDT, and the consequences of many decades
of dumping munitions, and chemical and nuclear wastes into the deep sea are unknown and
little studied. Oil and gas exploration and drilling has already expanded into deeper areas
and seabed mining for valuable minerals, although not yet economically feasible, may follow.

What Needs to be Done?

Our exploitation of the deep sea will only expand. Some of our activities are already causing
serious damage to life deep beneath the waves, and without precautionary measures others
will likely do so in the future. This report contains specific recommendations to ensure that
our activities are managed so that the remarkable life deep in the ocean continues to thrive.
The last great living wilderness on Earth is also perhaps our last chance to prove that we
can act as part of the flourishing web of life rather than its antagonist.

1
DISCOVERING THE DEEP SEA

N
ot so long ago, scientists had only the vaguest rise begins at about 3,000 meters and ends at 4,000 meters, and
notion of what could be found on the seafloor. Most can stretch for hundreds of miles between those depths.
assumed it was a vast plain, empty and still – almost
devoid of life, without even ocean currents. Over the last few The continental slope is also broken up by dramatic
decades, scientists’ understanding of the deep sea and its canyons, some of which are larger and deeper than the
abounding life has become much clearer. As Rachel Carson North American Grand Canyon. Animals such as deep sea
wrote in her now-classic The Sea Around Us, “instruments corals live on the sides of these canyons and filter food from
and equipment, most of which had been born of urgent the faster currents.5 From 1,000 meters down to 4,000 meters,
necessity, gave oceanographers the means of tracing the just slightly deeper than the average depth of the oceans, is
contours of the ocean bottom, of studying the movements of the midnight zone. The only real source of light at these
deep waters, and even of sampling the seafloor itself.”6 In the depths is from deep sea creatures that produce their own
1960s, oceanographers using early submersibles were light to attract prey or mates. These waters are home to
astonished to learn that familiar landscape features, such as mainly non-migrating crustaceans and fish.
great plains, deep canyons, mountain ridges and seamounts,
shape the deep ocean floor in the same way they do on land. Deepest
The deep sea holds some of the most remarkable marine life From the base of the continental rise the deep sea basin or
we know. This overview is meant to provide context for the abyss seems to stretch without end, covering about fifty
following sections, which describe the exquisite adaptations percent of the ocean. Breaking the monotony of the muddy
of deep sea fish and marine communities living on and deep sea floor known as the abyssal plain are long mountain
around seamounts, deep sea corals, hydrothermal vents, cold ranges called ocean ridges, isolated mountains known as
seeps, and even whale skeletons. seamounts, and oceanic trenches, the deepest places known.

The mid-oceanic ridges are essentially one inconceivably long

Deep mountain range that winds its way through all the oceans,
The continents do not simply stop at the coasts. From the seemingly holding the continents together like the stitches on
beach, continents slope gently toward the deep sea, forming a patchwork quilt. They form the largest volcanic feature on
the continental shelf, which may extend for only a few to several Earth, where new ocean floor is continuously created,
hundred miles from shore. At roughly 200 meters deep, the renewing the surface of the planet. Incredibly, bountiful life
seafloor drops off sharply, and is then considered the exists even in this deepest zone, where underwater geysers
continental slope. Scientists often refer to the break point called hydrothermal vents are home to some of the strangest,
between the continental shelf and slope as the beginning of the most exquisitely adapted life we know. Fantastic and
deep sea, as it is the transition zone between the shelf fauna remarkable life also exists on seamounts, undersea islands
and those from deeper waters.7 that accelerate the slow deep ocean currents and provide
oases of refuge and biological diversity from the surrounding
Sunlight fades fast in the sea, with less than one percent expanse. In places, even the abyss suddenly drops off from
reaching depths of more than 200 meters . Thus all marine plant 6,000 meters to more than 9,000 meters. The Marianas Trench
growth in the oceans occurs on or over continental shelves or in the west Pacific, the deepest place on Earth, is more than
seamounts (the deepest plant discovered to date was on the top 11,000 meters below sea level, 25 percent deeper than Mount
of a seamount 200 meters beneath the waves)8 or in the surface Everest is high. One of the deepest living animals ever
waters of the open ocean. Virtually all life in the ocean is discovered, an unidentified sea cucumber, was taken from
supported by these surface waters, as plants and the animals another west Pacific trench, the Philippine Trench, at more
that eat them grow and die, forming a seasonal ‘rain’ of food to than 10,400 meters deep.
the deep sea. Light and the availability of food heavily influence
the distribution of life within the oceans,9 and many of the
special adaptations seen in deep sea animals are likely because
of these two factors. The twilight zone between 200 and 1,000
meters, beneath which sunlight has all but gone, is home to
many mobile animals such as fish, squid and crustaceans that
make nightly forays into food-laden surface waters.

Deeper
Where the continental slope ends in the ocean depths, so does Distinct depth zones within the open water support
the continent itself. This demarcation point is often obscured by marine life according to varying sunlight and available
the continental rise, a build-up of sand, mud and organic matter food. Underwater mountains, trenches, and rolling
plains define the seafloor and support vibrant
that has been washed off the continental shelf by currents. The communities of marine life.

2
 LANDSCAPES OF THE DEEP

Highest
Highestmountain: Mt. Everest
mountain: (8,850 meters)
Mt.Everest (29,000 ft)
CONTINENT

Sea Level

LIT ZONE
SHELF 1

TWILIGHT ZONE

ISLAND ARC
SLOPE

SEAMOUNT
MIDNIGHT ZONE
RISE

MID-OCEAN
RIDGE

TRENCH
ABYSS

BASIN
1. NOAA; 2. Richard Lutz, Rutgers University; 3. NMFS/MBARI

DEEP SEA
Deepest trench: Marianas trench (36,000 ft)
Deepest trench: Marianas trench (11,000 meters)

1 2 3

Oculina coral Black smoker at a hydrothermal vent Paragorgia seafan

3
DEEP SEA CORALS

WHERE CORALS GROW orals are well known for harboring an

90º

POLAR
60º Latitude

TEMPERATE
30º

SUBTROPICAL TROPICAL
0º
C enormous diversity of life. Less well known
is that two-thirds of all identified coral
species live in deep, cold and dark waters.11 Unlike
100 tropical corals, which live symbiotically with algae
and so obtain some of their energy directly from
sunlight, those in deep and cold waters must
capture all of their food from the surrounding water.
500 They are thus capable of living far below the reach
of the sun’s rays, some more than five and a half
kilometers (5,630 meters) below the ocean’s surface.
They can also survive much lower temperatures – as
1000 cold as 30°F – allowing them to range as far north as
the Norwegian Sea, and as far south as the Ross
Sea in Antarctica.12

1500 Both tropical and deep water corals show great

diversity in size, shape and color, from bleach-white
cups no larger than a fingertip to crimson trees ten
feet tall. Some are stony and hard, others are soft
2000 and sway with the current. Some build gigantic
mounds reaching many feet from the seafloor,13
several build smaller colonies, and still others are
solitary.14
Depth in meters

4000
Modified from Stanley and Cairns 1981

Shallow water corals

Deep sea reef building corals

Deep sea non-reef builders

A. Lindner

6000

Tropical corals rely on the sun and are limited to shallow waters and low Colorful coral landscape beneath the waves near Adak, Alaska,
latitudes. Deep sea corals have been discovered at a wide range of depths in 150 meters deep.
subtropical, temperate, and even polar latitudes. Both tropical and deep sea
corals can build reefs.12

4
 that more than a hundred deep-sea coral and sponge
species live in the North Pacific waters off Alaska.23 Alaska
is indeed a hotspot for corals, as the Aleutian Islands are
thought to contain the highest diversity and abundance of
coldwater corals in the world.24 Furthermore, although
thousands of different types of deep-sea coral have been
described – including hydrocorals, sea fans, bamboo corals
and black corals – scientists estimate that roughly 800
species of stony corals alone have yet to be discovered and
described,25 in addition to many of the animals associated
with them.

Ecological and Commercial Importance

Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute/MBNMS

Deep-sea corals, sponges and other habitat-forming animals

provide protection from currents and predators, nurseries
for young fish, and feeding, breeding and spawning areas for
numerous fish and shellfish species. Lophelia and Oculina
reefs both harbor a variety of life as great as shallow-water
reefs. 13,15 Rockfish, Atka mackerel, walleye pollock, Pacific
cod, sablefish, flatfish, crabs, and other economically
important species in the North Pacific inhabit coral and
sponge areas.18 Dense schools of redfish heavy with young
have been observed on L. pertusa reefs off Norway,26
suggesting the reefs are breeding or nursery areas for some
species.27 The dense and diverse Oculina Banks community
supports large numbers of fish, including groupers, bass,
Gorgonian seafan on the crest of Davidson Seamount near California, jacks, snappers, porgies and sharks.17 Studies support
1,200 meters deep.
fishers’ observations that the disappearance of corals
influences the fish distribution in the area. 18,26
Deep Water Reefs and Sea Fans
Deep water coral reefs, like shallow tropical reefs and old- Coral and sponge communities are a largely untapped
growth forests, are truly ancient. Large Lophelia pertusa resource of natural products with enormous potential as
reefs are thought to be many thousands of years old.15 One pharmaceuticals, nutritional supplements, pesticides,
of the largest L. pertusa reefs discovered to date is about 300 cosmetics and other commercial products.28 Already,
meters deep in the waters off Norway. It is more than 13 scientists have discovered more patented pharmaceuticals
kilometers long and about 400 meters wide, and some parts in marine sponges than any other group, including terrestrial
reach as high as 30 meters off the seafloor.16 The deep water plants.29 Considering how few deep-sea invertebrates have
ivory tree coral, Oculina varicosa, builds extensive reefs been studied, the potential is enormous for discovering new
similar in size, shape and structure to L. pertusa.13 Found drugs to treat ailments ranging from asthma to cancer.
only off the southeastern United States, these reefs grow at
about 1 centimeter per year,17 and are likely to reach 1,500
A. Shepard National Undersea Research Program
years of age.13

Deep water gorgonian corals are equally remarkable.

Primnoa spp. and Paragorgia arborea, more commonly known
as red tree coral and bubblegum coral, respectively, can
form great branching trees that reach many meters from the
seabed. Using submersible research vessels,18 scientists
have observed corals that are 2 meters tall and 7.6 meters
wide. Scientists and fishers have reported bubblegum trees
more than 3 meters and a third of a meter at the base.19
Growing less than 2.5 centimeters, some large bubblegum
and red tree colonies may be several centuries old.20,21,22

Deep-sea coral communities often consist of many types of

coral and other living habitat. For example, it is estimated Schooling anthiid fish over an Oculina coral reef habitat near Florida,
75 meters deep.

5
COLD SEEPS AND HYDROTHERMAL VENTS

Richard Lutz, Rutgers University

Zoarcid fish swimming over a vent mussel bed on the East Pacific Rise off Mexico, 2,400 meters deep.

he energy captured by plants supports virtually all these worms produce enough energy to allow their host to

T life on Earth, whether on land or in the sea. This is

true even for life in the deep sea, which is almost
entirely sustained by the algae and other organic matter that
grow by almost 2.5 centimeters every ten days, making them
the fastest growing marine invertebrate.44 Another
inhabitant of hydrothermal vents is the large Pompeii worm,
falls from the thin layer of surface waters where sunlight is which also probably gets much of its food from bacteria, this
bright enough for plant life to grow. time attached to the outside of the worm’s body. Many
typically live together in large honeycomb-like colonies
However, in the generally low-energy environment of the around vent openings from which floods superheated water
deep ocean, oases exist whose energy is derived from other in excess of 150°C.9 These and other worms around these
sources. Cracks in the Earth’s crust below the waves allow vents may well be the most heat-tolerant animals on Earth.
cold seawater to trickle down to the magma layer.
Superheated water then rises from a crumbly vent or from Of the more than 500 new species identified at vents since
cracks and fissures. Minerals fall out of the jet as it cools they were discovered more than 20 years ago, 90 percent are
and give the plume the appearance of black or white smoke. known only from vents. Many also have close relatives at
Remarkably, these portals to the center of the Earth, known other sulfide-rich sites, such as cold seeps, that are
as hydrothermal vents, teem with some of the most unique, unknown from other deep sea environments. Hydrothermal
interesting, and mysterious creatures on Earth. vents are also home to holdovers from ancient times, fauna

Life, but Not as We Know It

The hydrogen sulfide and methane emissions from vents are
highly toxic to most life, yet provide energy for a remarkably
specialized community of worms, crabs, mollusks, shrimp,
anemones, soft corals and other fauna. Bacteria and
primitive microbes called Archaea convert the sulfur-rich
Richard Lutz, Rutgers University

emissions into energy. The Archaea and free-living bacteria

are directly fed upon by the other vent inhabitants. Other
bacteria have formed elaborate relationships with other
vent-dwellers such as mussels and clams. For example,
some giant tubeworms a meter long have no mouths or
digestive systems, and derive energy from the bacteria in
their tissues, which in exchange receive protection by living
within the worm.43 The many trillions of bacteria found in
Vent shrimp and brachyuran crabs on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 3,350 meters
deep.

6
with exceptionally ancient lineages. For example, while
shallow water barnacles may have evolved 28 million years
ago, and deep water barnacles 81 million years ago, vent
barnacles appear to have originated 153 million years ago.44
Indeed, the discovery of the Archaea has led some scientists
to speculate that life on Earth may have originated around
such vents.45

Cold Seeps
Rich communities of specialist organisms also thrive where
colder sulfide and methane-rich fluids bleed from the deep
seafloor. Sources of these cold seep fluids may be
groundwater, hydrocarbons, methane, or long-buried organic
material such as whale skeletons.43 A remarkable cold seep
originates from rainwater in the Santa Cruz mountains. From
there it enters a sandstone aquifer, and is released far
undersea along the walls of Monterey Canyon.46 This seep
thus allows rainwater originating in the mountains to nourish
the trees and plants there, while also directly supporting
chemosynthetic tubeworm communities in the deep sea.

Richard Lutz, Rutgers University

Relatives of the giant tubeworms found at hydrothermal
vents have recently been discovered eating bone from a
whale skeleton about 2,900 meters beneath the waves off
California.47 They too have bacteria in their tissues, in this
case to digest bone fats and oils. Each female worm, the
only ones found eating the bones, also contained 50-100 tiny
males. The fats and oils provide energy for worm eggs and
larvae, which are spread far and wide in hope of finding Minerals in superheated water escaping the seabed give it the appearance of
another whale carcass. a 'black smoker.' East Pacific Rise, 2,400 meters deep.

Richard Lutz, Rutgers University

Pompeii worms on the East Pacific Rise, 2,400 meters deep.

7
 SEAMOUNTS

he ocean floor is sculpted with tens of thousands

T of submerged mountains called seamounts,

underwater islands that rise steeply to more than a

NOAA, WHOI, the Alvin group, and the 2004 Gulf of Alaska
half-mile from the surrounding seabed. Either solitary or
part of long chains, they usually form where a plume of
magma rises from a stationary crack in the seafloor or
where continental plates are separating and creating new
ocean floor. As many as 100,00030 seamounts may occur
throughout the oceans, and they show considerable range

Seamount Expedition science party.

in physical, geological and chemical conditions. This wide
range of environmental conditions leads to a high diversity
of life, and makes many of them highly biologically
productive.

Most seamount summits are many hundreds of feet

beneath the waves, but not all. For example, Bowie
Seamount, located 175 kilometers off the western coast of
Canada, rises from a depth of about 3,000 meters to within
25 meters of the surface. Water clarity is very good at the
summit, which is covered in red and brown seaweed. Galatheid crabs in the branches of seafans on Pratt Seamount, just outside of
However, with depth the light fades, and animals such as US waters off the Alaskan coast, 900 meters deep.
sponges, anemones, hydroids and bryozoans become more seamounts identified 535 species, though the total number
abundant.31 The deepest known living plant, seaweed is probably closer to 1,000.34
growing below 200 meters depth, is from a seamount.32
Seamounts also appear to be important for top predators,
some of which concentrate their mating and spawning
Seamount Life above them. The Formigas Bank in the northeast Atlantic
Seamounts enhance the typically slow currents of the deep attracts groups of pilot whales, and bottlenose, common,
sea.33 These faster currents sweep the rock surface clean of and spotted dolphins.35 The highly productive waters above
sediment and carry food for filter-feeding animals such as Davidson Seamount, located 120 kilometers off the coast of
gorgonian, stony and black corals, and sponges, which often California, teem with a wide variety of fauna, including
dominate the ecology of the area. 30 The largest global review albatross, shearwaters, sperm whales, killer whales,
of seamount invertebrate ecology to date found that corals and albacore tuna, and ocean sunfish.36
anemones were common on almost half of them, and sponges
on about a quarter of them.29 Some researchers call seamounts
underwater gardens because of the prevalence of reefs, giant Seamounts Harbor New and Unique Species
tree-like sea fans, and delicate corals and sponges.29 The earliest review of seamount species found that 12 to 15
percent of all species recorded on seamounts were likely
The animals found on seamounts provide foraging grounds unique to those areas.37 Since then, several major studies
and protection for many different fish, the types of which have uncovered higher rates of unique species: More than 30
vary from region to region. Commercially exploited fish percent from New Caledonian38 and Tasmanian
include orange roughy and oreos in the temperate South seamounts,33 and 44 and 52 percent of fishes and
Pacific and North invertebrates respectively from Chilean seamount chains.39
Atlantic, alfonsino in the Other studies found less than 10 percent of fish species were
tropics and subtropics, unique to seamounts in the North Atlantic40 and
Patagonian toothfish Hawaii,41but overall the initial estimate of 12 to 15 percent is
(marketed as Chilean sea likely too low.29 Furthermore, new species have been found
bass) in the subantarctic on virtually all seamount explorations to date – at least 50
Southern Ocean, pelagic percent of the 2,000 species identified so far during the New
NIWA (New Zealand)

armorhead in the open Caledonian seamounts studies are new to science.30

North Pacific, and
rockfish along the Seamounts may also act as refuges for species that have
continental slopes of disappeared elsewhere – ‘living fossils,’ thought extinct
the Pacific and North since the age of the dinosaurs, have been found on New
Atlantic. The most com Caledonian seamounts.42 Because scientists have sampled
Stony coral reefs on small seamounts on the -prehensive checklist only a small fraction of seamounts, they are likely to discover
Chatham Rise, New Zealand, at about 1,000
meters deep. of fish known from many more new species.29

8
 DAVIDSON SEAMOUNT

Black-footed albatross Humpback whale Killer whale Dall’s porpoise

Surface to 1,200 m

Sea slug, nudibranch Benthocodon jellyfish Big red jellyfish Tomopterid worm
1,200 – 1,500 m

Bubblegum coral Red vermillion crab Deep-sea blob sculpin White ruffled sponge,
Farrea sp.

This inactive undersea volcano is located 130

kilometers southwest of Monterey, California
1,500 – 2,400 m

and was the first geologic feature to be

characterized as a ‘seamount.’ Although it
peaks at 2,300 meters above the seafloor, its
summit is still nearly one and a half kilometers
beneath the cold waters of the Pacific. The
2002 expedition to explore the ecology above
and on the seamount documented a remarkably
diverse array of creatures, some of which were
Sea toad Venus flytrap anemone Gorgonian and black caught on camera (images above). The waters
corals above the seamount are home to marine
mammals, birds and large finfish such as tuna
and ocean sunfish. Translucent worms, mollusks
and colorful jelly fish such as the newly
discovered ‘big red’ can be found below the
surface. The crest abounds with “large
2,400 – 3,000 m

gorgonian coral forests, vast sponge fields,

crabs, deep-sea fishes, shrimp, and basket stars.”
The cobbles and rocks on the rough slopes
Photos: MBNMS/MBARI

provide habitat for sea cucumbers, crinoids,

sponges, sea spiders, and rare deep-sea fish. All
in all, the researchers noted the habitats and
species in the area were e
‘ xtraordinary.’
Octopus Sea cucumber, Sea star, Sea spiders
and Brittle star Illustration and text modified from Burton et al.
2003. NOAA/MBARI 117

Not to scale. Approximate depths.

9
DEEP SEA FISHES

he ocean is undoubtedly the realm of the fish.

T Marine fishes dwell at all depths, from the shoreline

to the deepest waters of the oceanic trenches. Many
of the well known shallow water fish have relatives in the
deep sea. For example, of the nearly 1,000 species of bottom-
dwelling fishes that have been pulled up by trawls from the
deep sea,9 the most abundant are the grenadiers,9 odd-
looking relatives of cod. Indeed, the deepest dwelling fish
discovered to date – a deep sea brotula, found in the Puerto
Rican Trench at a depth of 8,200 meters48 – is also distantly
related to cod.

The relationship between cod, the brotula, and grenadiers

would not be clear to the casual observer however. The

Paul Yancey, Whitman College, Washington

Atlantic cod, the relatively large, muscular, streamlined fish
that formed a cornerstone of both Northern European and
American diets for centuries, is perhaps the definitive ‘fish’
to many Northern peoples. Grenadiers, on the other hand,
look more like huge tadpoles. They have a large head and
eyes and a bulbous body, completed by a long, slender tail.
Their peculiar body shape, well described by their other
common name – the rattails – is likely an adaptation to a
relatively low food supply. Many deep-sea fish have reduced
skeletal and muscular mass, slower metabolism and slower
growth rate to reduce energy consumption, apparent
adaptations to a lifestyle where the next meal is uncertain, Grenadiers are commercially landed and are distributed throughout the
while the chance of being preyed upon is also relatively low.49 world’s oceans.

If the roundnose grenadier seems strange, then many other

deep sea fish look decidedly frightening when seen up close.
They include serpent-shaped species such as snipe eel and
gulper eel – also known as pelican eel due to its huge mouth
with an expanding gullet; viperfish – with extremely long teeth
and a lower jaw longer than the head; and deep sea anglerfishes
– with shapes, lures and habits straight out of science-fiction
movies. Most however are mere centimeters long.
Edith Widder/HBOI

Common Blackdevil Anglerfish

Mark Norman/NORFANZ
Dave Wrobel

Fangtooth Viperfish

10
 creating a shadow.55 Of all the colors that together make up
daylight, red is the first to be absorbed by water, while blues
and greens penetrate much deeper. Therefore, while most
deep sea fish are blackish in color, some, like the orange
roughy, alfonsino, and some rockfish are a striking crimson
color, good camouflage in waters with no red light.1
Mark Norman/NORFANZ

Lifestyle, Longevity and Reproduction

Many deep sea fish are exceptionally long-lived: Blue ling
and Atlantic argentine can live between 30 to 35 years,
roundnose grenadier more than 60 years, 56 the sablefish 114
years, orange roughy between 125 and more than 150
years,57 and rougheye rockfish more than 200 years.58 Even
Longnose chimaera pup. The elongated body of this scaleless relative of mollusks, including clams little bigger than a thumbnail, can
sharks may help it detect prey.
live for more than 100 years.44 Death from natural causes in
the deep sea is typically low, and growth is often very slow.
Light, Color and the Senses Furthermore, the age when reproduction begins is often
Most deep-sea fishes living in the twilight zone between 200 later in deep sea fishes compared to shallow water fish. For
and 1,000 meters have large, highly sensitive eyes to make example, roundnose grenadier begin reproducing at 14 to 16
use of the small amount of light that does penetrate to the years,59 and orange roughy not until they are 20 to 30 years
depths.50 Many fishes at these depths and below produce old.60 Some deep sea fish, such as the tripodfish and
their own light through special organs, which may also help lizardfish, encounter potential mates so rarely that they
to attract a mate or lure prey, frighten predators or even to develop both male and female organs at the same time,
provide camouflage against the weak light from the surface. allowing for self-fertilization if all else fails. 1
Lanternfish and some dragonfish and viperfish have rows of
lights through their elongate bellies and some possess a The relative lack of food in the majority of deep sea is most
chin barbel at the tip of which is a lighted lure used to likely one of the most important factors leading to the
attract unwitting prey. Fishers in the past have used the specialized adaptations of deep-sea fishes. In shallow water
luminescent excretion from the light organs of softhead ecosystems food energy is often abundant, leading to many
grenadiers to enhance baits used for cod fishing.51 fish species with fast growth rates, early breeding, high
Biological light production is also used for defense; some natural death rates, and many offspring – and hence large
deep sea squid and jellyfish squirt a glowing ink which gives populations that can replenish themselves relatively quickly.
them cover while they escape. Such energy-rich ecosystems support large top-of-the-
food-chain predators such as seals, sea birds and whales.
In other cases, fish have well-developed chemical and Very few large predators forage in the deep, however,
acoustic sensors, which provide improved senses like smell perhaps an indication that there is simply not enough
and hearing.52 For example, orange roughy and some energy to support them.1
snailfishes possess a system of acoustic pores on their
heads and sides to sense movements and vibrations in order
to identify the movements of both predators and potential
prey.53,54 This ‘hearing’ array is shared by other deep-sea
fish, such as seafloor-dwelling chimaeras, eels, and
grenadiers, many of which have elongated bodies, an
adaptation which improves the precision and range of the
sense.1 Other fish rely on touch, such as the tiny-eyed
tripodfish, which ‘stands’ about a foot from the seabed on
sensitive fin rays.1 Yet, many fish on the deep seafloor still
have large, functional eyes, most likely because of the large
variety of organisms that produce biological light, such as
Mark Norman/NORFANZ

sea lilies, brittle stars, and sea cucumbers. 1

Living in darkness also has its benefits. Many deep sea

denizens are colored so that they are, in effect, invisible,
enabling them to better avoid predators that rely on sight to
catch prey. Transparent animals other than fish are common,
as light simply passes through them without reflecting or
Alfonsino catch from deep waters off New Zealand.

11
 DEEP SEA LIFE AND HUMAN ACTIVITIES
Deep-sea ecosystems are present in every ocean. Examples of marine life and
human activities are highlighted on this map, which is not intended to be
comprehensive.

Bubblegum corals Oculina corals Lophelia corals Hydrothermal vents

14 Other or unspecified
coral communities
 Photo credits: Alberto Lindner, Richard Lutz, HBOI,
MBARI, NIWA, NOAA, NORFANZ, NURC, USDoE
Data credits: A.G. Glover and C.R. Smith, Garrison,
hiwire.com.au, Science Magazine

Seamounts Orange Roughy Marine mineral extraction Gas and oil exploration
fishery location and exploration
15
THREATS

Fishing is the most pressing threat to deep sea ecosystems. “The deep sea fishery really
should not be considered a fishery at all. There is a much stronger analogy to a mining
operation wherein an ore body is exploited to depletion and then new sources…are sought.
And the deep sea fishery will remain a mining operation as long as ultimate technology is
employed as the main tool in its prosecution.” 1

FISHING In early deep water fisheries, such as those for Pacific

Ocean Perch and pelagic armorhead, the lack of
eep water fisheries began in earnest in the 1960s

D and 1970s, coinciding with declines in more

traditional shallow-water fish populations.60 The
development of improved fishing technologies such as
management was a primary reason for the crash of the fish
stock.66 Unfortunately, contemporary management of deep
water fisheries, where it exists, is usually based on
experience in shallow water fisheries. Because there are
stronger net materials, more powerful engines and winches,
considerable differences between the physical and
and better fish-finding electronics enabled these fisheries to
biological diversity of the continental shelf and slope,67many
expand into deeper and deeper waters. Commercial trawling
deep sea fisheries still collapse today, even those that are
is the most pervasive of all human activities in the deep sea,61
actively managed.66
and is carried out on the continental slope, seamounts and
deep coral reefs in virtually all oceans.62 Indeed, some 40
percent of the world’s trawling grounds are in waters deeper Orange Roughy
than the continental shelf,63 from depths of 200 to 1,800 meters.16 Orange roughy are exceptional in several ways. They are
In the early days of deep water fishing, the majority of among the oldest living animals on the planet, even by deep
species found both on seamounts and slopes were caught sea standards. Furthermore, spawning episodes occur every
on the slope, but an increasing fraction is now being caught one to two years, and most are unsuccessful in replenishing
from seamounts. Indeed, fishing has driven slope the population.66 Both of these factors make them more
populations of some species so low that they are now vulnerable to fishing and thus complicate management.
considered predominantly ‘seamount’ species,64 although Orange roughy is one of the most heavily exploited fish in the
very few commercially caught deep sea fish are found only deep sea. Approximately 30 major orange roughy fisheries
on seamounts. exist in the waters off New Zealand, Australia, Namibia,
Chile, and in the northeast Atlantic.68 Over two thirds of the
Vulnerable to Overfishing fish (expressed by weight) in nearly half of these fisheries
may already have been removed from the ocean by fishing,
Sufficient information for sustainable management is not
and in all the others but one the current status of the stock
yet available for the vast majority of the known 535 seamount
is unknown.68 In Namibian waters, fishers removed 90
fish species. Scientists do not have enough information to
percent of known orange roughy in six years.69 More than 85
measure the resilience to fishing for 75 of the 151 species
that are currently exploited. For the other 76, enough is
known to suggest that over half have ‘low’ or ‘very low’
resilience to fishing.34 Catching these fish makes little
economic sense34 – they simply cannot withstand heavy
fishing pressure. In fact, research suggests that, for
seamount fish, catching more than 5 percent of the
fish in each population is likely to be unsustainable in
the long term, whether they are currently fished or
not. 65 Because a much higher catch is needed for economic
viability, a “number of seamount populations have already
Mark Norman/NORFANZ

been depleted. More will be depleted and some will go

extinct if fishing on seamounts continues at current, or even
more moderate levels.”65 Indeed, from an economic
standpoint, “it is more profitable to catch and sell all of the
stock and then move on to exploit other resources.” 34
Unsurprisingly, this ‘boom-bust’ approach, more akin to
mining than fishing,1 characterizes many seamount and One of the major exploited deep sea species, the orange roughy can live for
other deep sea fisheries today.64 150 years.

14
percent of the fish in the South Pacific orange roughy habitat, are rigged with large metal or rubber balls that are
fisheries off Australia and New Zealand were caught and strung along the lead cable like beads. Trawl gear rigged like
brought to land by 2002.70 The maximum annual catch this can weigh over nine metric-tons, and is capable of
believed to be sustainable for these fisheries is only moving 16-metric-ton rocks.77 The combined direct and
about 1 to 2 percent of the fish in each population, collateral effects of trawling can be particularly devastating
whether currently fished or not.71 In the northeastern to stable, structurally complex habitats like many of those
Atlantic and around New Zealand, many aggregations of fished upon by deep sea and seamount fisheries.78
orange roughy have been depleted, and catch rates have
only been maintained by the discovery and catch of
previously unfished aggregations.72

Other Deep Ocean Fisheries

Many other commercially important deep water fishes –
such as blue ling, roundnose grenadier and the pelagic
armorhead – have shorter life spans and reproduce more
quickly than orange roughy, and so have been considered
better able to withstand intense exploitation. However,
experience shows that these species, too, are vulnerable to
excessive fishing .

The roundnose grenadier fishery in the North Atlantic

started in about 1964, grew enormously during the late 60s,
and spiked in 1971 at 80,000 metric tons.67 The very next year
the catch dropped by two thirds, and has dwindled since
then. Thirty years after the largest catch, the fishery is
showing few signs of recovery. 67 Pelagic armorhead from
seamounts northwest of Hawaii were heavily fished during
the late 1960s and early 1970s, and still have not recovered.73

AFMA
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
found that many deep water fish populations in the North
Atlantic are heavily exploited and some, including blue ling Catch of orange roughy from deep Australian waters.
populations,60 are severely depleted.74

Unfortunately, this pattern is common for deep sea slope Deep Sea Sharks
and seamount fisheries. On average, directed seamount- Nearly 35 percent of shark and ray species live in the
only fisheries collapse just four years after the largest deep sea. Fisheries for these species were almost non-
catch (eight years for other deep water fisheries), and existent before 1990,80 but they are now becoming a
recovery is many times slower than for a typical shallow more frequent target for directed fisheries. They are
water fishery.64 also caught incidentally in large numbers in other
fisheries. Due to their slower growth and reproductive
Seamount Fisheries rates,81 they are even more vulnerable to over-
exploitation than sharks living in shallower waters
Most of the commercially valuable species of deep sea fish,
(which are generally considered highly vulnerable). For
including orange roughy, alfonsinos, oreos and pelagic
example, the leafscale gulper shark may live 21 – 70
armorhead, aggregate on and around seamounts.65 Bottom
years, and the birdbeak dogfish for 11 – 35 years; both
trawls are the most effective method for catching
are caught in European fisheries.82
gregarious species, and accounted for about 80 percent of
the high seas catch in 2001.75 In fact, some 40 percent of the In the Northeast Atlantic, sharks may have declined
world’s trawling grounds are now on the continental slope more than any other species group.83 Fishing for deep
and on seamounts,63 to depths of more than 1,800 meters. water sharks in the Rockall Trough and Porcupine
Today’s trawling technologies can reach an area of the Seabight in the northeast Atlantic in waters as deep as
oceans roughly the size of all the Americas and Europe two and a half kilometers targets the leafscale gulper
combined.76 The mouth of a bottom trawl net, the largest of shark and the Portuguese shark. The number of sharks
which can swallow two Boeing 747s, is held open by two caught and brought to the dock in this area has risen
metal trawl doors. In addition, trawls that are to be used for almost twenty-fold in less than 10 years.82
fishing over uneven, rocky ground, like coral and sponge

15
 The ample evidence of problems caused by deep sea
fisheries have led some scientists to conclude that “there is
probably no such thing as an economically viable deep water
fishery that is also sustainable.”79 Others suggest that the
only type of sustainable deep sea fishery possible is one that
is on a very small scale, likely emphasizing a small quantity
of high quality fish.1

Damage to Corals, Sponges and Other

Living Habitat
UNTRAWLED
The most visible effect of deep water trawling is on the
seafloor itself.60 Trawling is the single largest threat to
slow-growing seafloor animals such as corals and

Both photos: NIWA New Zealand

sponges,85 and is likely to cause widespread ecological
changes and reductions in the diversity of life at all Comparable areas of
trawled and untrawled
depths.61 stony coral reef on
Chatham Rise
Researchers in Tasmania, Australia have studied the effects seamounts near
of fishing by comparing several fished and unfished New Zealand. Heavy
seamounts.33,86 They found substantial damage to corals as trawling in the area
has removed virtually
a direct result of trawling for fish such as orange roughy and all coral on some
TRAWLED
oreos. Heavy fishing had effectively removed all reef habitat; seamounts.
the most heavily fished areas resulted in habitats with more
than 90 percent bare rock. 87 The authors note “virtually
complete loss of this [coral] community…is consistent with bottom trawlers.92 The amount of coral removed from
other studies of the impact of trawling on reefal or other seamounts by New Zealand trawlers targeting orange
[seafloor] communities.”60 On seamounts in New roughy was more than three million pounds for 1997-
Zealand waters a similar pattern emerges – resear- 1998 alone, though the quantity caught dropped
chers have documented close to 100 percent coral considerably in later years as fishers trawled over the same
cover on unfished seamounts compared with two or spots. During these years, a single New Zealand trawl
three percent on fished seamounts.88 Furthermore, the brought up 14,000 kgs of coral, while one Australian trawl
fished seamounts in Tasmanian waters had 50 percent fewer during 2000 – 2001 caught an astonishing 45,000 kgs of coral,
species and seven times less biomass than unfished the main species caught on this trip.93 In Norwegian waters,
seamounts.89 scientists estimate that between one third and one half of
the deep water reefs have been damaged or destroyed by
Photographic surveys off Norway, Ireland and Scotland have
trawling.26 Ninety percent of the extraordinarily diverse and
found giant trawl scars up to four kilometers long in waters
productive Oculina reef habitat in the Atlantic off Florida,
200 to 1,400 meters deep.90, 91 The deep sea coral reefs
first described less than three decades ago, has already
damaged by these trawls are estimated to be around 4,500
been damaged or destroyed. Researchers estimate that only
years old.91 In Alaskan waters, the U.S. government
an 8-hectare patch of undamaged Oculina reef remains in
estimates more than three million pounds of corals and
the world, a patch so small that a “trawler could easily
sponges were removed from the seafloor between 1997 and
destroy it in a single night.”94
1999 by commercial fishing, roughly 90 percent of that by
Due to the slow growth and uncertain success of
reproduction in deep sea coral and sponge habitats,
recovery may be on the order of centuries.85 As these
animals provide living habitat to other species, their loss
could trigger domino effects on much of the local ecology of
the area.29 Furthermore, species extinction is a clear risk,
since so many animals are found only on specific seamounts
or seamount chains, some of them ‘living fossils.’29

Several governments have reacted to reports of cold-water

Joe Schulack

coral destruction by trawlers. The United States closed the

Oculina Banks to trawling in 1984, and recently extended the
protections indefinitely. Australia instituted a temporary
Illustration of bottom trawling.

16
 British Columbia. These moves are promising, but the vast
GRAVEYARD MORGUE
majority of deep sea coral areas are still open, both in
national waters and on the high seas. Roughly 47 percent of
seamounts are found in national waters; far fewer than five
percent are protected.95 For the 53 percent of seamounts
on the high seas, there are virtually no protections at
all from bottom trawling.95

DIABOLICAL GOTHIC
Dirty Fishing
Orange roughy, oreos, alfonsinos and Patagonian toothfish
and a few other seamount dwellers are unusual among deep
sea fish. In order to maneuver through the fast currents that
wash over seamounts, they are robust and deep-bodied, with
the firm flesh favored by consumers.60 However, many deep
sea fisheries catch a variety of different fish species and
other animals which have soft, watery flesh, undesirable
Bird’s-eye diagrams of four seamounts at similar depths on the Chatham Rise traits for either direct consumption or for conversion to
off New Zealand, named for the quantity of gear lost by fishermen. Blue circles fishmeal. The poor marketability of the majority of deep sea
indicate the coverage of coral seen in each photo, with larger circles indicating
more coral. All photos were taken by a sled camera towed three meters above
fish results in large quantities being simply thrown back over
the seamount. Graveyard and Morgue, both heavily fished seamounts, showed the side.96 This ‘dirty fishing’ is a serious problem in many of
less than two or three percent coral cover. In contrast, 100 percent coral cover the world’s fisheries, but is a particular problem in the deep
was often seen in the photos taken over the unfished seamounts Diabolical and
sea because the changes in pressure and temperature kill or
Gothic. From Clark and O’Driscoll. 2003.88
mortally injure nearly all of the fish before they even reach
the surface.97 Consequently, virtually all fish thrown back
protected area to research the effects of an orange roughy
overboard are already dead or dying.
fishery on 12 seamounts in 1995, which was then made
permanent in 1999.33 Norway created Europe’s largest deep Unfortunately, there is little good data on discards from
sea coral protected area in 1999, and has since banned deep sea fisheries.98 Furthermore, observers rarely record
trawling in four additional reef areas. Scotland and Ireland fish with no economic value, which, for the deep sea, is most
have recently won protections for several of their deep water of them. However, studies indicate that levels of discards are
Lophelia reefs from the European Union. New Zealand has as high in deep sea trawl fisheries as in many shallow-water
protected 19 seamounts as part of ongoing research into ones. For example, roughly half of all fish by weight hauled
their importance, and Canada has recently restricted up in the French fishery for grenadier in the northeast
bottom trawling in two small areas off Newfoundland and Atlantic are discarded, with discard rates increasing with
depth.99 The discarded catch in the deep water
Mediterranean shrimp fishery amounts to between 20 and
50 percent of the total catch.100, 101, 102

Furthermore, deep sea fish that do escape a trawl net have

more likely been injured by contact with the fishing gear than
shallow-water fish. While shallow-water fish often have small
scales and a mucus covering for protection, most deep water
fish do not naturally need such adaptations.103 Consequently,
injuries and bodily damage from contact with fishing gears
are very likely in deep sea fish, so that most that do escape,
die. These escapees may amount to as much as three-
quarters of the fish netted (45 percent by weight).103 Thus, the
number of fish actually killed by trawls (whether they are
landed, thrown back overboard, or escape) is likely to be
much higher than is currently presumed by most managers.
NIWA New Zealand

A small research sled filled almost solely with

stony coral from New Zealand seamounts.
While it is unlikely commercial trawls bring
up only coral and no fish, recorded trips of
trawlers in the area have shown a significant
catch of coral, as high as tens of thousands of
kilograms in the worst cases.

17
 OTHER THREATS

Oil and Gas Exploration Arctic to the Antarctic, borne on winds to places far
removed from their source. Once in the ocean, they are

A
mong potential threats to deep sea ecosystems,
carried by currents bound for the deep sea, or taken up by
current oil and gas drilling activities are considered
phytoplankton and accumulate in higher and higher
to have the greatest effect after trawling and other
concentrations with each step up in the food chain. Both the
fishery activities.104 The pace of oil and gas exploration and
surface life itself and the creatures that rise from the depths
drilling in depths of more than 300 meters has accelerated
at night to feed on it eventually die or are eaten, and their
rapidly in some areas in the last five to ten years. Of the
waste and bodies sink into the depths to be consumed by life
approximately 25 mobile deepwater rigs working in the Gulf
on the deep seafloor. Thus, north Atlantic fish living in the
of Mexico in 1998, three were capable of drilling in water
twilight zone such as lanternfish, hatchetfish, viperfish and
depths of up to 3,700 meters. An estimated 20 to 25 of these
dragonfish have high levels of PCBs,109 and deep seafloor
‘ultradeepwater’ drilling rigs were in service worldwide in
dwelling species such as morid cod living at 2,000 meters
2001.105 Atlantic deep water prospecting is also occurring off
have similar levels of PCBs and DDT as cod from the
Scotland, Brazil, and Namibia, and in some cases rigs are
shallow shelf waters off Canada.110 Recent research from
already producing oil. In all, more than 40 percent of the
the north and south Atlantic and Monterey Bay Canyon off
entire ocean is now within drilling depth.106
California indicates that the deep sea might actually act as
Oil and gas exploration and drilling could pose serious a sink for contaminants in the oceans, and that deeper-
threats to fauna unable to avoid the area. These activities dwelling fauna may be even more contaminated with these
can directly crush and damage these creatures, and can chemicals than those that live close to the surface.111 For
affect their living conditions by increasing the amount of example, in one study roundnose grenadier caught at 2,000
sand and grit in the water and altering essential currents meters in the North Atlantic were more contaminated than
and nutrient flows.107 Drilling muds and cuttings from oil and those from 1,000 meters depth, and the deepest-dwelling
gas exploration can be toxic to corals, and are known to fish caught, the lizardfish, was the most highly
cause death and alter feeding behavior in shallow-water contaminated of all.112 In recent years, PCB and DDT have
varieties,27 although the effects on deep water corals are been phased out in many parts of the world, but other similar
unknown. Studies have shown that the presence of drilling chemicals still in use today are showing up in deep sea
muds can also inhibit the settlement of invertebrate fish.113 Whether contamination by persistent organic
larvae.108 As with other activities, such as fishing, drilling pollutants had, continues to have, or will still have significant
wastes may pose a more serious problem in the deep sea impacts on the deep sea biology and ecology are unknown.
than in shallow waters due to lower resistance among deep
Similarly, levels of mercury in some long-lived, commercially
sea communities, as well as slower recovery rates.104
caught deep sea fish are high enough to raise questions
about their suitability for human consumption. For example,
Pollution orange roughy have over 0.5 parts per million of mercury (1
ppm = 1 mg/kg),114 and alfonsino have levels as high as 0.96
Scientists long believed that chemicals and heavy metals of
ppm.115 Because mercury levels also increase with age and
concern on land and in coastal waters, such as PCBs, DDT
size, larger specimens of these fish are often even more
and mercury, would not reach the depths of the ocean.
highly contaminated. The U.S. government recently warned
However, it is now known that they are almost ubiquitous,
that women of child bearing age and children should eat no
found in significant quantities in ocean waters from the
more than one meal a week of albacore tuna, which carries
an average of 0.34 ppm of mercury, and that those same
consumers should not eat king mackerel (0.73 ppm),
swordfish (0.97ppm) and shark (0.99ppm) at all.114 Though no
specific warning has yet been given for deep sea fish such
as orange roughy and alfonsino, it seems clear that
consumers should be similarly concerned.

Mineral and Hydrate Extraction

No commercial seabed mining operations currently exist in
the deep sea, as the practice is not yet economically
feasible. However, prospecting for precious minerals is
underway in the deep Pacific waters off Central America, as
OCEANA

well as in the southeast Pacific and the Indian Oceans. Such

deposits are found from less than 300 meters to six and a
Two of the largest sources of mercury pollution are coal-fired power plants and half kilometers beneath the surface of the ocean, on rocky
mercury-cell chlorine factories.

18
 outcrops from the the surface of the ocean due to changes in phytoplankton
continental shelf, species composition, and in deep water. Increased organic
on the tops of matter in the deep sea could cause an increase in microbial
seamounts, and in activity that uses up the limited oxygen in areas of the deep
abyssal sediment.116 sea, creating a dead zone in the same way that algal blooms
Valuable minerals do in shallower waters.
such as copper, gold,
cobalt and nickel are Pumping CO2 into the deep ocean on the scale that would
also present in the be necessary to get back to even twice the pre-industrial
MBARI

mineral precipitate levels of atmospheric CO2 would lower the pH in the oceans
from hydrothermal enough to have likely consequences for the ecology of the
Hydrothermal vent community on the Gorda deep sea.119 Increased seawater acidity could have profound
Ridge, off Oregon at about 3,000 meters depth. vents.
effects on marine life in the same way that acid rain affects
The environmental impacts of mining in the deep sea are not the life in freshwater lakes.119 Furthermore, at depths below
well understood. Organisms living on or near the seafloor 3,000 meters, CO2 would assume a liquid form and could
will certainly be disturbed and may not recover for many pool like a lake on the seafloor,120 effectively smothering any
years, in part due to the removal of the hard substrates on life that could not escape. Large dead zones, created as a
which recolonization depends. Other potential effects result of either fertilization or CO2 pumping, could cause
include algal blooms near the surface of the sea, and “mortality sinks,”in which animals killed by increased acidity
impacts on fisheries and migratory species like sea turtles. or suffocation would decompose and attract scavengers
If mining becomes common in the future, it could pose the into the area, which would die in turn. As a result, the effect
greatest and most widespread threat to deep sea on the deep sea could be far wider than the immediate
communities of all human activities.104 area.104

Future threats from deep-sea mining could include

extraction of methane hydrates, ice-like crystals made of
water and natural gas that are buried beneath the seafloor.
While there are many unknowns about the feasibility and
potential consequences of releasing methane hydrates, the
governments of the United States, Canada, Japan, Korea,
and India have begun research into their potential as an
energy resource. Uncontrolled releases in the geologic past
may have led to abrupt climate changes, with significant
implications for ocean ecosystems.117

Carbon Dioxide Sequestration

One of the “solutions” to the problem of carbon dioxide
pollution of the atmosphere and global warming involves
schemes to increase the amount of CO2 absorbed by the

Shane Anderson
oceans, either by ‘fertilizing’ the sea with iron, or by physically
pumping CO2 into the deep sea. In theory, the ocean could
absorb our annual CO2 emissions many times over. However,
the interactions of physical, chemical, and biological processes
that control the carbon cycle in the ocean are still poorly Oil and gas drilling platforms are moving into deeper and deeper waters.
understood.118 While the technical feasibility of such projects
is being studied, the large scale ecological implications are
receiving much less attention.

The goal of iron fertilization is to cause the increased

growth of algae in areas where the lack of iron currently
limits them, thus pulling more CO2 from the atmosphere into
the surface waters. The concept relies on the carbon to then
fall into the deep sea through fecal pellets or dead
organisms; otherwise it would simply be metabolized by
surface organisms and released back into the atmosphere.
Thus there could be massive ecological changes, both on

19
CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

U ntil recently, the deep sea remained the final frontier in humanity’s incessant search for exploitable resources.
Technology has now broken the barriers of depth and distance from shore, to create unsustainable trends in
exploitation that are seriously damaging deep-ocean ecosystems. We now know that many of our land-based
activities directly affect life in the deep sea in the same way they do every other ecosystem on Earth. Because destructive
bottom trawling is by far the largest threat at present, we focus most of our conclusions and recommendations on it.
However, other continuing threats (dumping, land-based contamination, and fossil fuel extraction) and future threats
(seabed mining, methane hydrate extraction, and carbon sequestration) need better control, evaluation, and precautionary
management before they are allowed to begin or expand into the deep sea.

Conclusions Recommendations

• Seamount and other seafloor fish species are likely to • The UN General Assembly should adopt a resolution
be far more vulnerable to fishing than most shallow- calling for an immediate moratorium on high seas
water species. The maximum catch that is likely to be bottom trawling, until such time as effective, legally
sustainable for seamount fish is a tiny fraction of the binding conservation and management measures to
population. Because bottom trawling for a small protect deep sea biodiversity and conserve and manage
number of fish is not economically viable, ‘mining’ of bottom fisheries have been adopted and implemented in
entire populations of seamount fish has become the accordance with international law.
norm.
• Individual governments should assess deep water
• Seamounts, deep sea corals, hydrothermal vents and ecosystems in national waters, and protect areas of high
cold-water seeps support hotspots of life in the deep biodiversity and/or high vulnerability from the most
ocean. Because animals in these areas are often destructive activities, particularly bottom trawling.
extremely long-lived and fragile, destructive activities
such as bottom trawling can destroy decades or even • An especially cautious approach, erring on the side of
centuries of growth. Recovery is not likely in our, or conservation, should be paramount in all planning and
even our children’s lifetimes – if ever. management decisions regarding deep sea resource
exploitation. Similar precaution should be exercised
• Seamounts and vents are often home to unique species pertaining to contamination by persistent bioaccu-
found nowhere else on earth, leading to high likelihood mulative chemicals.
of species extinctions if the areas are damaged. Some
are also home to species thought extinct since the time • Studies of the local and large scale ecological
of the dinosaurs. implications of projects such as iron fertilization, carbon
dioxide pumping, methane hydrate extraction, and toxic
• Because species such as birds, whales, dolphins and waste disposal – and their implications for the health of
turtles congregate over seamounts, they may be marine life – are more important than studies to assess
important for successful migrations. The deterioration their technical and economic feasibility.
of seamount ecosystems could have adverse affects on
the wider marine environment.

• Organic pollutants such as PCBs and DDT are found

in high levels in many deep sea fish, and mercury is
high enough in some to raise concerns over their
suitability for consumption.

20
ENDNOTES

Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank many individuals for their help with this report. Deserving of particular gratitude are Drs.
John Gage, John Gordon, Tony Koslow, Daniel Pauly, and an anonymous expert, for their technical reviews. Much
appreciated technical advice was also provided by Eric Annis. Additionally, thanks to those who kindly provided
data, images and video: Drs. Stephen Cairns, Malcolm Clark, Rainer Froese, Randall Kochevar, Alberto Lindner,
Richard Lutz, Don Michel, Mark Norman, John Reed, Don Robertson, Andy Shepard, Joe Siebenaller, Robert Stone,
Ken Sulak, Kevin Sullivan, Edith Widder, and Paul Yancey; and Tamsin Allen, Tissa Amaratunga, Kim Fulton-Bennett,
Erica Burton, Allison Mitchell, and Dave Wrobel. Finally, special appreciation to Kelsey Abbott, David Allison,
Christina Cairns, Bianca DeLille, Phil Kline, Shikha Savdas, Margot Stiles and the entire team at Oceana.

Endnotes
1 Merrett, N.R. and R.L. Haedrich, 1997. “Deep-sea 13 Reed, J.K. 2002a. “Comparison of deep-water threatened ancient gorgonian groves.” Sea Wind
demersal fish and fisheries.” Fish and Fisheries coral reefs and lithoherms off southeastern USA.” 12(1):2-21
Series Vol. 23. The Natural History Museum, London. Hydrobiologia 471:57-69
Springer.
23 Wing, B.L. and R.R. Barnard. 2004. A Field Guide to
14 Gubbay, S. 2002. “The Offshore Directory: Review AlaskanCorals. U.S. Dept of Commerce, NOAA
2 Bentley, M., 2003. “Next generation robots take of a selection of habitats communities and species in Technical Memo. NMFS-AFSC-146. 67p.
the plunge.” BBC News online, Jan 9. Available at the North-East Atlantic.” World Wildlife Fund
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3373511.stm
24 Heifetz, J., B.L. Wing, R.P. Stone, P.W. Malecha,
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future of Methane Hydrate Research in the United
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