The Cape Eleuthera Institute and The Island School have recently begun their deepwater exploration of The Exuma Sound with almost 100 hours of footage from the deep ocean. This study is being run as an Island School research project in collaboration with Dr. Edith Widder of the Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA: http://www.teamorca.org) and has seen the successful completion of six drops in depths ranging from 661 – 912 meters. This has been made possible through the loan and use of Medusa – a deep ocean camera system that was responsible for the first ever live images of the giant squid.
Preliminary analyses have revealed several species of shark and an abundance of invertebrates and deep-sea teleosts. This project represents one of the first comprehensive assessments of deep-water fauna anywhere in The Bahamas, and these data will contribute to the management and conservation of these little known species on a regional and global level.
Please check out this video of footage from the Medusa!