Members of the NEPDEP 2024 expedition saw many wonders as they explored the seamounts and deep-sea ecosystems off Haida Gwaii in northern British Columbia; the Hakai Institute’s Toby Hall returns to tell the tale
In September 2024, the NorthEast Pacific Deep-Sea Exploration Project (NEPDEP, pronounced “neep-deep”) completed a three-week expedition of the deep-sea ecosystems off the coasts of Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island. The project is a collaboration between the Council of the Haida Nation, the Nuu-Chah-Nulth Tribal Council, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Royal BC Museum, University of Victoria, and Ocean Networks Canada.
Based on board the Canadian Coast Guard vessel John P. Tully, the expedition used the ROPOS submersible to visually document and retrieve biological samples from habitats in existing, planned, and potential Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). It was led by Dr. Cherisse Du Preez, head of the Deep-Sea Ecology Program at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) and adjunct professor at the University of Victoria.
Joining the crew onboard was Hakai Institute Producer Toby Hall. Hall was there primarily to document the expedition through video and photos; he also operated drones and produced the expedition summary video. Du Preez hand-picks her team based on their scientific and technical expertise—and on whether she thinks the team member would get on well with the rest of the crew. Hall made the cut.
Hakai Institute videographer Toby Hall poses next to the ROPOS submersible. Photo courtesy Fisheries and Oceans Canada
A big part of NEPDEP is exploring seamounts in current MPAs and other areas being considered for conservation measures. Can you speak to the significance of this?
The team is working together to co-create new knowledge about these areas. Alongside the scientific observation of deep-sea creatures and habitats, First Nations are providing stories and knowledge about what these seamounts mean to them, including the fact that their ancestors would canoe across to collect food or valuable ceremonial materials in some of these areas. At that time they were shallow islands, but since sea levels have risen, they became submerged seamounts. Expeditions like these give the Nations a chance to go back and see the places their ancestors used to visit and harvest from.
In Haida, the name for the SG̲áan K̲ínghlas-Bowie MPA means supernatural being looking upwards. This is a huge seamount that goes down to about 3,000 meters and is measured for changes by the expedition crew around every 100 meters. The top of the seamount is only about 24 meters from the surface, which means snorkelers are able to see its peak. The top of this seamount also hosts an abundance of ocean life, such as sharks and rockfish, circling the top of the seamount.
Cherisse Du Preez, front row left, and expedition crew admire ROPOS footage. Photo by Toby Hall
How did they choose which areas to visit?
The study sites of the expedition include existing and proposed co-managed MPAs, specifically the Hecate Strait/Queen Charlotte Sound Glass Sponge Reefs MPA, the SG̲áan K̲ínghlas-Bowie MPA, and the proposed Offshore Haida Gwaii MPA network and adjacent areas.
In the glass sponge reefs, the science team had outdated maps that they needed to “ground-truth”—in other words, to confirm the presence of healthy glass sponge ecosystems. Trawl fishing had occurred in the area prior to the MPA being established, so the team collected imagery to see where the reef was damaged and where it was healthy, and to look for potential growth in areas that were historically trawled.
A Pacific white skate, Bathyraja spinosissima, lays eggs on a hydrothermally venting seamount near a new-to-science species of bamboo coral. Image courtesy of NEPDEP expedition partners, CSSF ROPOS
There are obviously so many fascinating aspects when it comes to observing deep-sea habitats, but did anything stand out for you?
One of the most fascinating aspects was seeing the behavior of skates at the top of these seamounts. Seamounts are extremely ecologically rich areas, like an oasis in the middle of a desert. One seamount in particular is currently referred to as NEPDEP 58—a placeholding name until the Haida Nation can name the newly discovered feature—experiences loads of thermal venting and is much warmer, by about one degree Celsius, than the water around it. Scientists have observed that skates are coming up from the deep ocean—2,000 to 3,000 meters deep—and laying their eggs at the top of this seamount because the warmer waters may act as a natural incubator, speeding up the gestation period.
You would see these skates come out of the depths, gliding to the top along the slope, and start showing behavior that they were about to lay eggs—they arch their back, lift their tails and do this amazing thing where they rub against the corals. The eggs are designed in such a way that they can hook onto things, like a coral, and then get pulled out fully. It was really incredible to see.
The ROPOS submersible caught images of many rarely seen creatures, including this giant phantom jelly (Stygiomedusa gigantea). Image courtesy of NEPDEP expedition partners, CSSF ROPOS
Any other sightings of interesting deep-sea creatures?
For sure. Another highlight was an extremely rare sighting of a giant phantom jelly (Stygiomedusa gigantea) attached to a coral and in the process of freeing itself. Very little is known about this species, and since its discovery a little over a hundred years ago, the giant phantom jelly has only been seen something like 100 times, depending on which source you read.
We also saw other creepy deep-sea creatures like the blobfish and the red demon squid—the stuff of nightmares—but overall, the amazing aspect of this expedition was that we were seeing something new and exciting almost every hour.
