Report | March, 2013
Important Ecological Areas Seafloor Habitat Expedition
In June 2011 Oceana conducted a five day research expedition in the Pacific Ocean waters off southern Oregon to document and characterize seafloor habitats and their associated biological communities, and to help inform and advance the long-term conservation and management of Important Ecological Areas.
Using a Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) mounted with a high definition camera, we recorded 13.5 hours of video of the seafloor during the course of 17 dives, across six geographic study areas and in depths ranging from 28 to 228 meters. This study characterizes and compares the physical and biological structure at each area and the associated fish species identified through a combination of continuous and interval video analysis.