August 2017

Pelagic Research Services was honored to be selected to support the work of NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program through the Southeast Deep Coral Initiative (SEDCI) with our ROV System Odysseus.

The purpose of the NF-17-08 expedition was to survey, map and sample deep-sea coral ecosystems in federal waters of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Bight, focusing on priority areas identified by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (GMFMC) and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC). For this purpose, the expedition conducted benthic surveys, mapped operations using the ship’s fisheries acoustics and multibeam echosounders, and performed CTD-casts and water sampling using the ship’s CTD carousel and sensors.

Highlight video from this Nancy Foster expedition has been posted on the expedition website: oceanexplorer.noaa.gov

Images ©PRS and NOAA