Seamount Expidition: Sea Creatures!

Juevenile Oreo Fish

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) recently completed a six-week expedition to the southern Indian Ocean. The crew studied six seamounts with the goal of  developing “ecosystem approaches to fisheries management for biologically-globally significant and commercially-important areas beyond national jurisdiction, the high seas.” They collected nearly 7,000 species, many of which are new discoveries and delightfully odd!

Check out their blog for an account of their adventures and additional photos.

Also, you can support IUCN and projects like this one by donating here.

Sea Toad

Unidentified Octopus

Unidentified Fish

Hatchet Fish

Unidentified Fish

Barreleye Fish

More about the Barreleye from a previous post.

All photos by Sarah Gotheil