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June 22, 2011

Setting sail with the Oceana Ranger

BY: Angela Pauly

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It’s the summer of expeditions here at Oceana Europe!

A couple of weeks ago the Oceana Hanse Explorer pulled into port in Copenhagen after spending 2 months exploring the Baltic Sea and today, the Oceana Ranger kicked off its 2 month expedition through the Mediterranean and the Atlantic! This time, the annual Ranger expedition will set sail to explore seamounts and underwater canyons. Despite their rich biodiversity, these types of areas remain relatively unexplored because of their depths and their complex geographic structures.

Our team of scientists, photographers, videographers and divers, equipped with an underwater robot (that can go as deep as 800meters!) are ready to take on the challenge – and once the data has been gathered and analyzed, the information will be used to propose the creation of MPAs or other conservation measures.

Oceana will be collaborating with the Portuguese Government and the country’s scientific community to study the Gorringe Bank, a little explored seamount and a veritable oasis of biodiversity southwest of Portugal. Another seamount that will be documented during the expedition is the Chella Bank, off the coast of Almeria. With support from Spanish Fundación Biodiversidad, we will study this area for the second consecutive year as a partner of the European Commission’s LIFE+ INDEMARES project aimed at documenting marine habitats for subsequent incorporation into the Natura 2000 Network.

We’ve created a special section in our website to follow the expedition, which will include images, video, diary entries and other information.  We’re excited to share our discoveries with you!

Our thanks to Revo for providing our onboard team with schnazzy performance eyewear, which is much appreciated in the working environments they’ll be exposed to.