Day 1

Day 1 and we are en route to Aberdeen. I am excited and nervous but really looking forward to setting sail on this, my first offshore mission to save the deep! There comes a time in every marine biologist’s life that missions like these need to take place, away from the desk! I have been working on cold-water corals, fisheries and conservation for a while, but I find myself wondering why am I doing this? What is all the fuss about? But really, since Dr Kerry Howell got me involved in deep sea video and image analysis, I have been blown away by the beauty of the flora and fauna in this, once thought of barren land.

The deep sea is traditionally classified as an area of the sea below 200 m. The first surveys of the deep seas of the North Atlantic were conducted by Sir Charles Wyville Thomson aboard the vessels H.M.S Porcupine and H.M.S Lightning, heralding the early development of deep-sea biology. For those who may wish to read these incredible voyages see, The Depths of the Sea, by Sir Charles himself, published in 1873. There have been many books published since then, but one that also comes to mind is The Silent Deep: the Discovery, ecology and conservation of the deep sea, by JA Koslow. However, a website was set up in order to fully engage the public in matters of the deepest kind… http://www.deepseaconservation.org.uk

We have just scratched the surface of the deep during the development of technology over the past 20 years and there is still a lot we do not fully understand about the biological, chemical and physical processes that occur down there. We know more about the moon then the deep sea and since the earth is 75 % water, we all should pay more attention to what lies beneath. The deep trenches of our oceans are being discussed as CO ₂ sequestering sites, some of the fish you eat comes from trawlers fishing at depths of 1500 m (yes some of you may think you are eating cod from the fish & chip shop…), some deep sea sponges harbour component chemicals that are being used as we speak to treat certain cancers. So yes folks, the deep ocean is Out of Sight but not Out of Mind

I am here to support Jaime Davies, an intrepid exploreress! of the coolest kind, who is here with Dave Long from British Geological Survey (BGS) and members of the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) offshore team. The aim to classify the benthos of the Anton Dohrn seamount and East Rockhall and ongoing study in order to classify and map the deep water benthic communities on UK seamounts, ridges, banks and canyons. This kind of study is fundamental to informing the Marine Protected Area (MPA) creation process.

It is now 11 pm and we are leaving the beautiful Italian restaurant Rustico. The taxi ride back to the hotel is quiet and contemplative as I follow the edge of the coast to the sea and watch the vessels arrive into the harbour through the light mist of the evening. I think, tomorrow evening I will be experiencing that same quiet riot as I look at the edge of the coast to the land and I smile.