The state house announced last
Wednesday in a press release the new joint marine-research to explore further
the marine biodiversity in the Seychelles and Maldivians oceans. The objective is
to establishing a baseline of marine life and the state of the ocean in
Seychelles, the Maldives and the High Seas of the central Indian Ocean.
The first descent “Midnight Zone’
is described at a depth between 1000-4000 meters where there is absolutely no
light. This research main focused will be on the seamounts between the
Seychelles and Maldives. Seamounts are known to be underwater sea mountains
which has been formed by volcanic activities. The expedition will be using one
of the world’s most advanced deep-diving submersible alongside a dozen research
tools including landers, sampling, sensors and mapping technology.
“A healthy planet needs a healthy
ocean. The time to act is now. Seychelles is committed to ocean conservation
and by the end of March, we will have 30% of our waters established as
protected areas. Seychelles are demonstrating the scientific and economic case
for sustainable ocean management and protection and we are delighted that other
nations, like the Maldives, are taking leadership” said President Danny Faure
of Seychelles.
“This expedition will help us
establish the long-term sustainability of our eco
nomic growth, livelihoods and
jobs through establishing marine protected areas to build ocean resilience”
said President Ibrahim Mohamid Solih of Maldives.
Dr. Lucy Woodall, Nekton’s
Principal Scientist, from the University of Oxford state “Seamounts have high
levels of biological diversity and biomass with a complex mosaic of habitats.
They provide stepping stones between coastal areas that can act as nurseries
for juvenile fish and are highly productive fishing grounds” Dr. Woodall
further added “Seamounts are poorly studied across the globe but are being
increasingly impacted by human activities as technology allows exploitation of
ocean resources at greater depths and distances from land”.
The joint Seychelles-Maldives
Expedition is led by scientists from Nekton and the University of Oxford
working with, and on behalf of the Governments of Seychelles and the Maldives.
Scientists from Seychelles and the Maldives will be participating throughout
the mission
The expedition’s mothership, DSSV
pressure drop and submersible have just completed sea trials in the Mediterranean
Sea before beginning the journey towards Seychelles.
March last year Nekton Mission
launched a two month underwater expedition not deeper than 500metres of the
Seychelles waters were various data and specimen were collected
Photo Nekton
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