Fish filmed at a record depth of 8,178 meters
 A Japanese research team, in cooperation with NHK, has succeeded in filming a fish swimming at a depth of 8,178 meters in the Pacific Ocean -- the deepest ever recorded. Scientists believe the maximum depth a fish can survive is 8,200 meters. Beyond that, their cells are assumed to no longer function due to the water pressure. In May this year, in an attempt to prove that hypothesis, the team at the Japan Agency of Marine-Earth Science and Technology, or JAMSTEC, lowered unmanned observation equipment to a depth of 8,178 meters in the Mariana Trench. The probe was equipped with super high-definition 4K cameras provided by NHK. Mackerel were used as bait. First, shrimps showed up. The cameras captured a fish, swimming slowly, 17 and a half hours later. The fish, about 20 centimeters long, is a translucent white. Its distinguishing feature is its big head and slender, eel-like tail. It is thought to be a species of deep-sea snailfish. The depth of 8,178 meters reached by the JAMSTEC team is 26 meters deeper than the previous record set by a Chinese research team. That team succeeded in filming fish at a depth of 8,152 meters in April. Three years ago, British and the United States group succeeded in filming 2 kinds of fish at 8,145 meters. A leader of the JAMSTEC team, Kazumasa Oguri, says he was excited to find fish at that depth. He says his team plans to take samples from that location to better understand the biology of deep-sea creatures. |
