Monsters from the deep

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Studying fish in the deep-sea is particularly challenging as they live under very high pressure AND without any sunlight. The deep-sea environment makes up a huge part of our oceans, so it is vital that we understand and protect it.

Oceanlab use digital cameras that work down to depths of 6000 m - 50 football pitches - to take pictures of deep-sea animals. The camera is baited with mackerel, a really smelly fish, which attracts deep-sea scavengers. The pictures are taken every minute and provide us with information on the types of animals that visit the bait, their size and numbers. Sometimes we even get a surprise like a huge shark or a really weird deep-sea fish!

Taking pictures of deep-sea life helps us to understand the depths of our oceans, giving us a portfolio of which animals live where and why.

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