![]() ![]() When brand new data on the glacier lantern fish or Mueller's pearlside lands on J. Rasmus Nielsen and his colleagues are doing today. ![]() The researchers therefore called for international research into the biology and sustainability of the twilight zone species, and this was a decisive factor to the research that J. This process is known as the biological carbon pump, and the risk of negatively affecting this natural process by ceaselessly fishing for the species that are a part of it are great. The animals and organisms living in the twilight zone have a huge impact on the planet's carbon balance, as every year they help move between 2 and 6 billion tons of carbon from the surface of the sea to the bottom of the ocean, where it is stored for hundreds of years. Rasmus Nielsen.Īlthough there was, and still is, great uncertainty about the numbers in the study, they gave rise to a kind of gold rush atmosphere, particularly among the fishing, pharmaceutical, and food industries, which immediately saw an opportunity for an new business adventure.Īt the same time, researchers from DTU, Norway, Spain, England, Scotland, and Portugal warned people not to exploit the resources in the mesopelagic zone without knowing the possible environmental consequences. And soon a number of interested parties were asking the next question: Can this be exploited?" says J. "Obviously, those numbers attracted a lot of attention. ![]() This is a volume 10 times greater than in previous estimates and corresponds to 90 percent of Earth's total fish biomass or, at the time of the study, about 1.3 tons of fish biomass per human on Earth. The size of this biomass has been widely discussed, but in 2014 a large international study gained everyone's attention with a mind-blowing estimate.īased on global mapping, the researchers behind the study estimated that the mesopelagic zone is home to a biomass of between 10 and 20 billion tons of fish and shellfish. However, the light levels in the twilight zone are so low that photosynthesis is virtually non-existent, and scientists have always wanted to know what is going on down there.ĭuring World War II, when the Allied fleets used echo sounders to detect and locate enemy submarines and mines, very hard blows to the echo sounders indicated that an unknown amount of biomass was hiding in the deep sea. Above it is the epipelagic zone near the surface, where sunlight supports photosynthesis and growth. ![]() The mesopelagic zone is called the twilight zone because it starts at a depth that sunlight can barely penetrate. So we really need to think it through and do work that is both quick and correct." "The first articles in a virtually unknown area can have a huge impact on later decisions. This means that our research is both relevant and necessary, but it's also a huge responsibility," he says and adds: "It's both exciting and frightening to be doing research in an area where we know so little. He has done research, given advice, and taught on the subject of fisheries management and the sustainable use of marine resources his entire adult life, but the mesopelagic zone is largely unknown territory. Rasmus Nielsen, we know "virtually nothing" about what consequences fishing for these species may have on the food chain they form part of or what role they play in the overall ecosystem. These species can be used to make fish oil, fish meal, and medicine, and perhaps even as a food source. the glacier lantern fish and Mueller's pearlside, which are attractive to the commercial fishing industry due to their high oil content of between 20 and 30%. The work of the researchers from DTU Aqua concentrates on two small species of fish, i.e. Rasmus Nielsen from the National Institute of Aquatic Resources at DTU Aqua, who processes some of the information collected by the marine research vessels along with his colleagues. One of the researchers looking for answers in the project is Professor J. The project aims to investigate whether the fishing industry can target some of the many species found in the mesopelagic zone without repeating the many disasters in fishing history: poor management resulting in overfishing, the destruction of ecosystems, and the collapse of biodiversity. This North Atlantic deep sea fishing expedition is part of a research project funded by the European Commission. Like a large fishing net, it sifts the seawater for living organisms in search of knowledge about a place on Earth that we know less about than outer space. ![]()
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