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June 24, 2010

Seco de los Olivos. The depths of the seamount.

BY: Silvia García

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© OCEANA / Thierry Lannoy

 

LIFE+ INDEMARESToday we were in the southern area of the seamount, where the seabeds fall to the deepest area of the study, to roughly 750m. As expected, the pilot whales (Globicephala melas) made an appearance, a group of 6 specimens, that usually feed in this area. These cetaceans can dive down hundreds of metres in search of food, squid or fish. In this case, the sighting was quick; they swam by the stern and did not want to be photographed.

Like always, we spot various trawlers fishing in this area. Parts of the seamount are being constantly ploughed, making it impossible for sessile organisms to develop, as is the case with the bamboo gorgonians or Isidella elongata we saw yesterday in a very deteriorated state.

We had to cancel the dive with the ROV after an hour and a half and depth of roughly 650 metres, due to technical problems. These things can easily happen and the solution must be found on land, because the technicians must open the ROV’s main unit and it can’t get wet.