After two very successful expeditions along the Melville Ridge in the SIO, the project has uncovered a dozen new species and valuable data on rare and poorly-known species. A trip to the unexplored 90 East Ridge promises to discover additional new species and collect more valuable data.
Category Archives: Projects
Southeast Atlantic Ocean 2015, EAF-Nansen Project
The EAF-Nansen project focused on surveying the depths and life of the Walvis Ridge off the coast of Namibia to assess the vulnerability of the marine ecosystems and the presence of non-target animals such as coral, sponges, and of course sharks!
Southern Indian Ocean 2014, Last Frontier of Shark Discovery
The SIO has been recognized as one of the world’s last unexplored regions. Because of its remoteness, its depths have only recently been accessible, due to the commercial development of deep-sea fisheries in this area. There is virtually nothing known about the fauna and ecology of these seamounts or their population structure, community dynamics, and trophic interactions. In 2014, I returned to the Southern Indian Ocean to continue exploration of this vast and mysterious region.
Paul J. Clerkin 