Mesopelagic trawl - off Kermadec Islands Oct 2016

Using a very wide net to complete a 960m deep mesopelagic trawl near the Kermadec Islands has brought up a large number and diverse range of deep water species.

Scientists are especially interested in lanternfish and their nightly feeding movements from the ocean depths to the surface - a daily round-trip journey for these tiny fish.

This type of sampling has rarely been carried out at these depths. The distribution and range of marine species and their numbers recorded in the trawl
will provide a snapshot in time for researchers studying longer term changes in biodiversity across South Pacific waters.

The temperature through the water column has been measured from 19°C at the surface to only 5°C at 1000m depth. These recordings also help scientists build up a picture of the ecological impacts of climate change on marine life in the area over time.