Deep Sea Animals of the Marshall Islands

During our NA174 expedition to explore the deep sea of the Marshall Islands, our Corps of Exploration was fortunate enough to witness a plethora of stunning deep-sea wildlife on ROV Hercules’ cameras. From swimming crinoids to cutthroat eels (Synaphobranchus sp.), enjoy a string of sightings in this highlight from across the Central Pacific underwater landscape. Catch glimpses of long-legged shrimp (Nematocarcinus sp.), deep-sea long-spined sea urchins (family Diadematidae), sea cucumbers, a variety of crustaceans, and more. Stay until the end, and you’ll even see a polychaete squidworm and a cusk eel! Our team loves exploring, so enjoy humorous crew reactions mixed with lots of fun facts to learn more about all of these deep-sea creatures. 

The Republic of the Marshall Islands is an atoll-based country of over 1,200 islands surrounded by 2.13 million square kilometers of ocean, the vast majority of which has never been mapped or surveyed. Despite data gaps, it’s known that the deep sea of Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ hosts rich and diverse marine resources, including these amazing aminals, over 300 unexplored seamounts, extensive deep-sea ridges, and escarpments. This expedition was developed collaboration and consultation with the Marshall Islands Marine Resources Authority and other local stakeholders and funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.