Deep SeaFish Sets aNew Record

By: Haley Chasin,

The deepest part of the ocean is called the Hadal zone named after the Greek god of the underworld, Hades. The Hadal zone spans depths from 6-11 km (20,000-36,000 ft) in pitch black darkness, with pressures reaching 1,086 bars (equal to the weight of 100 elephants) and near-freezing temperatures. How do species survive these extremes?

Deep sea organisms have adapted at a cellular level. Some have high concentrations of an organic molecule called piezolyte (Greek word ?piezin?meaning pressure) allowing them to stop cellular membranes and proteins from being crushed under extreme pressures. These proteins counteract the weight of the water by increasing the space that proteins take up in the organism's cells. TMAO forms strong hydrogen bonds with water molecules allowing them to resist high pressures. Tim Shanks at the Woods Hole Oceanographic

Institution, Massachusetts describes, ?it?s like putting the stakes up in a tent.?The amount of piezolyte trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) increases with the depth of the habitat.

Fish closer to the surface have gas-filled organs like that of a scuba buoyancy control device (BCD) allowing them to stay float or sink whereas deep-sea fishes lack swim-bladders. Also, they must adapt to low levels of oxygen.

Similar to the Mexican cavefish, deep sea fishes have larger red blood cells that produce higher concentrations of hemoglobin, the protein that carries oxygen.

Due to these harsh conditions, the deep sea was once thought to be lifeless. Today we know better. Recently, marine scientists on the journey to the Galápagos Rift in the Pacific Ocean took Alvin, an ROV(Remotely Operated Vehicle), to the deep sea.

At 8,000 ft (2,440 m) they discovered a deep sea miracle.

Sulfur spewing chimneys acted as the primary source of energy production through chemosynthesis. Geysers on the rift base almost resembled hot springs at the Yellowstone National Park and were brimming with life. Since then, scientists have found up to 600 never-before-seen species including the scaly-foot gastropod (Chrysomallon squamiferum), a type of snail with iron armor, and a new crab ?The Hoff?(Kiwa tyleri) after actor David Hasselhoff due to its hairy chest.

In August 2022, a team from Minderoo-UWA Deep Sea Research Centre and Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology boarded the research ship DSSV PressureDrop for a two-month long expedition to explore three deep trenches in the Northern Pacific Ocean: 23,950 ft off of Ryukyu, the 26,246 ft deep Japan trench, and the 30,511 ft deep Izu-Ogasawara trench as part of a 10 year study of the deep-sea dwelling fish populations. On this mission the deepest fish ever recorded was discovered. This juvenile fish of unknown species in the genus Psuedoliparis, was found at a depth of 8,336 m (27,349 ft) in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, South-East of Japan. The team from Japan and Australia discovered it using bait and a deep-sea submersible support vessel. The team also collected two snailfish from the same trench at 8,022 m and the only fish caught deeper than 8 kilometers. The previous Guinness World Record for the deepest fish ever recorded was the Mariana snailfish (Psuedoliparisswirei) found at 8,178 m (26,831 ft) between Japan and Papua New Guinea in the Mariana Trench near Guam.

Though these discoveries are new and exciting, still lots is to be discovered. Scientists say that they know more about outer space than they do the deep sea and why deep sea exploration is so important, from discovering new species to inventing new innovative technologies to discover these new creatures.