A research group has found the area’s biggest identified fish breeding space located in the southern Antarctic Weddell Sea.
A towed digicam system photographed and filmed hundreds of nests of icefish (“Neopagetopsis ionah“) on the seabed. The density of the nests and the size of all of the breeding space counsel a total sequence of about 60 million icefish breeding on the time of reveal.
In February 2021, researchers considered a enormous sequence of fish nests on the screens aboard the German research vessel Polarstern, which their towed digicam system transmitted are residing to the vessel from the seabed, 535 to 420 meters (1,755 to 1,378 toes) under the ship.
The longer the mission lasted, the extra the pleasure grew, sooner or later ending in disbelief: nest adopted nest, with subsequent prognosis showing there were on moderate one breeding location per three square meters (32 square toes), with the group even discovering a maximum of one to 2 active nests per square meter.
A gaggle led by Autun Purser from the Alfred Wegener Institute published their ends in the present recount of the scientific journal Fresh Biology.
In line with Purser:
“The postulate that such a enormous breeding space of icefish in the Weddell Sea used to be previously undiscovered is fully spellbinding.”
Deep-sea biologist Prof. Antje Boetius, who wasn’t fascinating on the scrutinize, says it’s a sign of how pressing it’s to keep marine protected areas in Antarctica:
“Mad by how minute identified the Antarctic Weddell Sea is, this underlines all of the extra the want of world efforts to keep a Marine Staunch Situation (MPA).”
She continues:
“Unfortunately, the Weddell Sea MPA has peaceable no longer yet been adopted unanimously by [the international Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources]. But now that the positioning of this extra special breeding colony is identified, Germany and other CCAMLR contributors may perchance also peaceable make certain no fishing and most constructive non-invasive research takes set aside there in future.
“To this level, the remoteness and principal sea ice stipulations of this southernmost space of the Weddell Sea enjoy protected the gap, nonetheless with the increasing pressures on the ocean and polar areas, we desires to be principal extra formidable with marine conservation.”
