Issue 069 - February 2021

First New Seafloor Map of the Decade Collected on New Year’s Expedition in Australian Waters

Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor has collected the first public seafloor data of the New Year, as part of a global effort to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. Australian scientists aboard the ship literally “Pinged in the New Year” as they sent sonar waves down to the ocean floor at midnight on Dec. 31 and throughout New Year’s Day, flying the first official flag of The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project. This also marks the start of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

The expedition is a collaboration between Schmidt Ocean Institute, Seabed 2030, and Australian research institutions, and seeks to map significant seafloor features in the Tasman and Coral seas, offshore Eastern Australia. Seabed 2030 aims to facilitate the complete mapping of the global ocean floor by 2030, and will make this data freely available.

“We are still learning a lot about the complexity of the seafloor and are always discovering new features,” said Co-Chief Scientist Dr. Helen Bostock, from the University of Queensland. “These features provide information about the evolution of the ocean, while features like volcanic seamounts commonly support vulnerable marine ecosystems and are nurseries for deep sea fish. It is important that we improve the map of the seafloor to help manage the oceans and their resources sustainably into the future.”

Science party seafloor mapping from control room aboard Falkor

Jamie McMichael-Phillips, Seabed 2030 Project Director said: “We now have just under a decade to reach our target of mapping the world’s entire ocean floor. Partnering with organisations such as Schmidt Ocean Institute will greatly help us in achieving this ambitious initiative, and this expedition is an excellent testament to how we intend to use this time we have left until 2030.”

The high-resolution seafloor mapping is a continuation of Schmidt Ocean Institute’s year-long 2020 campaign in Australia, which has resulted in new discoveries, including a 45-meter siphonophore, believed to be earth’s longest sea creature, and a new 500-meter tall detached coral reef. The current expedition to the Tasman and Coral seas will provide detailed maps that give scientists insight into the formation of the Australian continent.

Globally so far, 19 percent of the seafloor has been mapped according to the Seabed 2030 initiative. “Schmidt Ocean Institute is proud to partner with and fly the flag of Seabed 2030 to advance this critical work,” said Executive Director Dr. Jyotika Virmani, “Open sharing of information is one of our core values, and seafloor maps are fundamental to understanding our ocean. Better seafloor maps will improve tsunami prediction and will also give scientists insight into ocean circulation which controls the marine environment, including where nutrients and pollutants such as microplastics accumulate.”

“It’s an honor for us at Schmidt Ocean Institute to collect the first seafloor mapping data of 2021 as we greet this UN Decade of Ocean Science,” said Wendy Schmidt, Schmidt Ocean Institute co-founder. “WIth the tools we have today, we are able to ‘see’ the deepest, darkest ocean floor. As we explore more areas, there’s no telling what discoveries await, but we fully expect to identify new areas of high biodiversity that need protection, and to help develop comprehensive ocean floor maps that can guide the world in sustainably developing the Blue economy.”

The expedition will continue mapping the Tasman and Coral seas through to Jan. 26. The maps created will aid in the understanding and management of the Coral Sea Marine Park, which sits outside the Great Barrier Reef UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is one of world’s largest marine parks, spanning nearly 1 million square kilometers of the ocean. The new mapping data will be made publicly available through The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 and the AusSeabed Marine Data Portal.

Schmidt Ocean Institute's Research Vessel Falkor — Schmidt Ocean Institute’s Research Vessel Falkor

About The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project

Seabed 2030 is a collaborative project between The Nippon Foundation of Japan and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO). Launched at the United Nations (UN) Ocean Conference in June 2017, Seabed 2030 coordinates and oversees the sourcing and compilation of bathymetric data from its five centres into the freely-available GEBCO Grid.

About Schmidt Ocean Institute

Schmidt Ocean Institute was established in 2009 by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to advance oceanographic research through the development of innovative technologies, open sharing of information and broad communication about the oceans. For more information, visit www.schmidtocean.org

About the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development

Proclaimed in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly, the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021-2030) (‘the Ocean Decade’) seeks to stimulate ocean science and knowledge generation to reverse the decline of the state of the ocean system and catalyse new opportunities for sustainable development of this massive marine ecosystem. The vision of the Ocean Decade is ‘the science we need for the ocean we want’. The Ocean Decade provides a convening framework for scientists and stakeholders from diverse sectors to develop the scientific knowledge and the partnerships needed to accelerate and harness advances in ocean science to achieve a better understanding of the ocean system and deliver science-based solutions to achieve the 2030 Agenda. The UN General Assembly mandated UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) to coordinate the preparations and implementation of the Decade. For more information, visit https://www.oceandecade.org/

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Related Topics:australia expandition seafloor

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Issue 069 - February 2021

SEVENSEAS Travel Magazine – February 2021 – Issue 69

Cover Issue 69 Feb 2021 — Cover Art: CEM-Europe

Winter Solstice Present to the Earth: Ivory Coast creates its first Marine Protected Area at Grand Béréby

The Government of Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast) announced its first Marine Protected Area (MPA) in Grand-Béréby. Under Professor Joseph Séka SEKA’s chairmanship, Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Development a major ceremony took place on-site, with strong involvement of the local communities and high-level participation of different national ministries, UN representatives, and international guests, including the ambassador of Sweden. Read more…

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Sea Anemones Find Sweet Arrangement with Under-Skin Algae for Emergency Food Source

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ANGARI Foundation to Premiere ‘Generation Ocean: Sharks’ 360 Film

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Methane-Busting Seaweed Farms on Track for 2021 Production

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Feature Destination: Grand Béréby: Ivory Coast’s first Marine Protected Area

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The pink hairy squat lobster – Jack’s February Underwater Photograph

This marine crustacean is commonly known as the “Pink hairy squat lobster”, also known as the “Fairy crab”. Its scientific name is Lauriea siagiani. Actually, L. siagiani is not really a lobster but belongs to a group of crabs called Anomurans. Read more …

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Ocean Valentines – Printable Cards & GIF’s

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First New Seafloor Map of the Decade Collected on New Year’s Expedition in Australian Waters

Lead Scientist Helen Bostock seafloor mapping from control room aboard Falkor

Schmidt Ocean Institute’s research vessel Falkor has collected the first public seafloor data of the New Year, as part of a global effort to map the entire ocean floor by 2030. Australian scientists aboard the ship literally “Pinged in the New Year” as they sent sonar waves down to the ocean floor at midnight on Dec. 31 and throughout New Year’s Day, flying the first official flag of The Nippon Foundation-GEBCO Seabed 2030 Project. Read more…

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An Angler’s Winter Chore May Spark an Idea to Make the World a Better Place

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The FREE Weekly Conservation Post and Jobs List

Signing up for the free Weekly Newsletter & Jobs List will get you a round-up of upcoming events, webinars, meetings, reports, funding opportunities, photos of the week, and recent postings to the jobs list.

To sign up for our free subscription, please Click Here or email us Here.

Since 2004, SEVENSEAS Media has fostered an informal and non-partisan platform to promote understanding of key issues and challenges while building partnerships across an increasingly diverse group of marine conservation professionals and students.

Our mission is to promote communication and build partnerships across the global marine community and to identify and address gaps in the community’s work. SEVENSEAS Media achieves this through multimedia promotion and partnerships. The community consists of a diverse and growing group of participants, including non-governmental organizations, government agencies, foundations, bilateral and multilateral agencies, fellowship programs, independent consultants, and academia/students.

If you are interested in contributing or getting involved, email us Here.

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Issue 069 - February 2021

An Angler’s Winter Chore May Spark an Idea to Make the World a Better Place

a man is fishing on a rock next to a river

It’s not pretty. Turning fishing lines into new products is labor-intensive, requiring a series of workers to manually comb through, sort, clean, remove hooks and weights, and separate out miles of encrusted debris in an entangled fishing line. So as you pile up a few reels of the line to be recycled this winter, the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is asking for your ideas on how to help grow the volume of line recycled each year.

Teaming up with fishing tackle company Berkley, the BoatUS Foundation’s Recast & Recycle Contest seeks out new ideas and improvements to the process, new ideas for recycled products, or technology breakthroughs for the current process that will increase the volume of line and soft baits that are recycled. Entry is simple – all you have to do is send a short video or one-page summary explaining your idea. Thirty thousand dollars in prize money is at stake for the three best ideas submitted through May 14, 2021.

“It’s great that anglers recycle,” said BoatUS Foundation Director of Outreach Alanna Keating. “Now we need to ask for help with scaling up recycling with a greater volume of line, whether it’s a time- and labor-saving process improvement or creating a new market to fully sustain recycling efforts.”

Judges will add weight to contest submissions that actually work, are practical, innovative, and have the potential to have a significant impact.

The first-place prize is $15,000, second place receives $10,000, and $5,000 will be awarded for third place. Contest submissions can address any part of the process (or multiple parts) of taking discarded fishing lines and soft plastics from the end of life to a new beginning. Professionals, amateurs, and students alike are encouraged to apply, as are school teams and groups. Contest entries can be submitted with as little as a link to a video demonstration of the idea or a one-page graphic summary. Videos are limited to 4 minutes.

Contest rules and conditions, details on the current recycling process, and videos on how various plastics and soft baits are recycled can be found at the Recast & Recycle website BoatUS.org/Contest.

About the BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water

The BoatUS Foundation for Boating Safety and Clean Water is a national leader promoting safe, clean, and responsible boating. Funded primarily by donations from the more than 700,000 members of Boat Owners Association of The United States (BoatUS), the nonprofit provides innovative educational outreach directly to boaters and anglers with the aim of reducing accidents and fatalities, increasing stewardship of America’s waterways, and keeping boating safe for all. A range of boating safety courses – including 36 free state courses – can be found at BoatUS.org/Courses.

About Pure Fishing

Pure Fishing, Inc. is a leading global provider of fishing tackle, lures, rods, and reels with a portfolio of brands that includes Abu Garcia, All-Star, Berkley, Fenwick, Fin-Nor, Greys, Hardy, Hodgman, Johnson, JRC, Mitchell, Penn, Pflueger, Sebile, Shakespeare®, SpiderWire, Stren, Ugly Stik, and Van Staal.

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Conservation Photography

The pink hairy squat lobster – Photo taken in Indonesia – Jack’s February Underwater Photograph

This marine crustacean is commonly known as the “Pink hairy squat lobster”, also known as the “Fairy crab”. Its scientific name is Lauriea siagiani. Actually, L. siagiani is not really a lobster, but belongs to a group of crabs called Anomurans.

Anomurans are decapod crustaceans, meaning they have ten appendages (legs). But unlike their relatives called brachyuran (the true crabs), the two rear appendages are small and are hidden under the shell, together with the respiratory organs or gills.

The fairy crabs are tiny. Adults typically measure no more than 1.5 centimetres; thus they are of no value from the point of view of a commercial fishery. However, despite their small size, and because of it, they are spectacularly beautiful. Their body is almost translucent; their legs show edges of intense, nearly florescent pinkish-purple color, with purple spots and lots of white hairs covering the entire body.

Anomuran crustaceans live in almost all oceans, but this particular species, the fairy crab, lives associated with a species of sea sponge called the “Giant barrel sponge” (Xestospongia testudinaria) which abounds in coral and rocky reefs off the coast of the Lesser Sunda Islands (Bali) and Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Fairy crabs are usually difficult to photograph because they are very shy and hide under the projections on the sides of the sponges.