Mesophotic Scientific Expedition to the SFF Malpelo

INVEMAR is developing the project “Deep seamount biodiversity exploration and MPA monitoring strategies in the Colombian Pacific along bathymetric gradients”. The project has been awarded by the FRIENDS OF THE CHARLES DARWIN FOUNDATION FOR THE GALAPAGOS ISLANDS, with funding made possible by the Bezos Earth Foundation-BEF. The project aims to improve the knowledge base for the design of existing and newly established deep-water MPAs in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) region of Colombia, which includes deep waters that are little or not explored in the ETP due to the technical and financial challenges associated with their study. This five-year project will start with a first research cruise, “MESOPHOTIC SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION TO THE SFF MALPELO, PACIFIC COLOMBIA”. The cruise will characterise and model the mesophotic coastal habitats of seamounts and terraces between 50 and 200 m depth.