Nansen’s first scientific survey in 2022 is taking the research vessel – Dr Fridtjof Nansen – to survey a number of selected seamounts of the Sierra Leone Rise, in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), within the area of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF). During the month-long survey (postponed from 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic), the expedition team will investigate seabed habitats, and in particular document the presence and distribution of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems (VMEs), such as sponge aggregations, cold-water coral reefs and coral gardens, for which special protection is required from possible impacts that may occur during bottom fishing activities. The survey will also map pelagic and demersal fisheries resources as well as provide an opportunity to sample zooplankton in selected areas.
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