Deep-Sea Expedition Captures First Footage of Rare Barreleye Fish

A 35-day expedition to the Doldrums Megatransform and Fracture Zone in the Atlantic Ocean has yielded unprecedented footage of deep-sea creatures, including the first-ever video of a barreleye fish (binocular fish) alive in its natural habitat at 710 meters depth. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute led the mission aboard the Research Vessel Falkor (too), using the ROV SuBastian and AUV The Childlike Empress to explore the 60,000-square-kilometer region across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Scientists discovered two new hydrothermal vent fields at 4,000 meters depth, hosting shrimp, crabs, anemones, and chemosynthetic bacteria. Other sightings included a bigfin squid with tentacles up to eight meters long and a deep-sea isopod (Bathyopsurus nybelini) carrying sargassum. Dr. Paula Zapata Ramirez of Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana emphasized the value of understanding these ecosystems, while Schmidt Ocean Institute Executive Director Dr. Jyotika Virmani noted that serpentinization processes could inform the search for life on other planets.