Abyssal and Hadal East Indian Ocean
The Minderoo-UWA Deep-Sea Research Centre and Caladan Oceanic embarked on a 25 day voyage aboard the DSSV Pressure Drop to explore, to sample and map key seabed features of the East Indian Ocean at abyssal and hadal depths (3000 - 7000 metres deep).
Follow their voyage here.
Two baited landers were deployed at the head of Perth Canyon and within the Perth Canyon Marine Park. Both landers were in 1000 m water depth.
These relatively shallow deployments recorded high abundance of crustaceans (crabs) and fish compared to those at Wallaby-Zenith Fracture Zone (WZFZ) and the Wallaby-Cuvier Escarpment (WCE) and also recorded a small shark.
One crab was so large it shifted the lander while it fed on the bait. Crystal crabs (Chaceon albus) were present at both landers. This species is common along the Coast of Western Australia and is fished commercially between Fremantle and the North West Cape.