Deep-Sea Lebanon 2016

This October 2016 Oceana embarked on a 1-month at-sea expedition in the Mediterranean Sea to document and explore submarine canyons and deep-sea areas in Lebanese waters.

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Overview

In October of 2016, Oceana embarked on a 1-month at-sea expedition in the Mediterranean Sea to document and explore submarine canyons and deep-sea areas in Lebanese waters. This was Oceana Europe’s 25th expedition in 13 years and the fourth expedition in 2016. The expedition was the first that conducted research in the eastern shore of the Mediterranean. The main objective of this expedition was to establish marine protected areas (MPAs) in Lebanon and devise management plans to ensure that any potential MPAs identified in this expedition are subsequently protected from human activity by Lebanese authorities.

At present, only 4.5% of the entire Mediterranean has been legally protected from human activity and most of the current protected areas are located in shallow waters and not in deep-sea and submarine canyons, meaning there has been limited protection for benthic deep-sea habitats. The Lebanon expedition’s findings are intended to help achieve a 10% target by 2020 to protect marine and coastal, as part of the Convention on Biodiversity’s Aichi Biodiversity targets for 2011-2020.

To find out more on the expedition, check out our on-board diaries!

This project was possible thanks to the generous support of MAVA Foundation. Key partners for implementation are IUCN and UNEP/MAP – RAC/SPA . The Lebanese Ministry of Environment is key member of the Steering Committee, and ACCOBAMS, GFCM and CNRS are supportive partners.

Diaries

October 27, 2016

Oceana Sea Patron

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October 26, 2016

Impressions about the day

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October 25, 2016

New discoveries for me

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October 24, 2016

What nobody sees

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October 23, 2016

Rose

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October 22, 2016

Déjà-vu

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October 21, 2016

A day on board

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October 20, 2016

Record of depth, farewells and welcomes

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October 19, 2016

Thank You

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October 18, 2016

Rubbish in the depths

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October 17, 2016

You are amazing

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October 16, 2016

The success of this mission

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October 15, 2016

Sunrise and sunset over Beirut

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October 14, 2016

Passing the torch on

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October 12, 2016

The muddy seabed

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October 11, 2016

First week successfully completed

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October 10, 2016

Wish list

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October 9, 2016

A Sunday in Beirut

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October 8, 2016

Back on dry land

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October 7, 2016

Slopes and Corals

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October 6, 2016

One month, 5 canyon systems, more than 750 km2…

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October 5, 2016

A new boat

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October 4, 2016

Birthday on board

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October 3, 2016

First dive of the expedition

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October 1, 2016

Preparations in Beirut

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The Crew

Aaron Saenz

Deckhand

Javier Camarena

ROV Navigator

Alex Blanco

Deckhand

Pere Valera

Skipper

Marta Fernández

Deckhand

JOSÉ MANUEL SÁEZ

ROV's Technician (Spain)

Silvia García

Senior Marine Scientist

Ricardo Aguilar

Senior Advisor & Expedition Leader

Enrique Talledo

Videographer and Photographer

Brais Lorenzo

ROV Navigator

Jorge Blanco

Senior GIS Analyst & Logistics Coordinator

Videos

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Oceana in Europe gratefully acknowledges EU funding support.

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