Canyon Habitat Science

During this year's expedition, Greenpeace -  in collaboration with an exemplary team of renown deep ocean research scientists - will explore Zhemchug the world's largest submarine canyon and Pribilof Canyon. This scientific research will document their biological richness and confirm their importance to the food web and ecosystem as primary areas for foraging marine mammals, birds, commercially important fish species, and build the case for their protection from destructive fishing practices such as bottom trawling. Protecting key ecological areas is an important issue to native communities that depend on ocean resources (fish,seals) for their survival. A key aspect of this research will be documenting the presence and locations of deep-sea corals and sponges.

This research will be precedent setting work for a variety of reasons.  
It will be the first in situ exploration of Zhemchug Canyon. There have been limited unmanned surveys but this is first manned submersible habitat research effort. It's the first time a NGO has committed to this level of deep ocean scientific research. This project is targeting a gap in the current scientific information documenting the location and presence of important deep sea habitats that once known will lead directly to their protection thus advancing our larger goal of building a network of marine protected areas within the Bering Sea over time. Recent changes to our Federal Fisheries Policy, directing Regional Fishery Management Councils to provide Congress with information on the locations of deep sea corals and how they are being protected gives us this unique opportunity. The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council has a history of protecting deep sea corals but recently declined to protect Bering Sea Canyons citing a lack of scientific information on the location of coral habitats.