Objectives: to explore deep-sea areas of the Azores EEZ to better understand the distribution patterns of large VME species and commercial fishes. Specifically, IMAR/ATLAS objectives in the cruise were to (i) characterize benthic communities inhabiting unexplored seamounts, such as Cavalo and São Jorge de Fora seamounts, (ii) identify new areas that fit the FAO vulnerable marine ecosystems definition; and (iii) determine distribution patterns of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores. The results of this cruise will also contribute to identify the environmental drivers that determine the spatial distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores region. It will also provide valuable information in the context of Good Environmental Status (GES), Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and provide new insights on how to sustainably manage deep-sea ecosystems. The information gathered in this cruise was obtained by means of the Hopper tow-cam system, an HD video platform specially designed to be operated on board of the R/V Pelagia.

Objective: to explore seamounts of the Azorean archipelago to better understand the distribution patterns of VMEs and commercial fish species. A special interest was placed in exploring deep-sea areas along the Mid Atlantic Ridge and close to islands of the central group. The device used in this survey corresponds to the low-cost drift-cam video platform designed and developed at IMAR. Vessel: N/I Arquipélago Chief scientist: Telmo Morato Scientific team: Telmo Morato, Carlos Dominguez-Carrió, Sérgio Gomes, Gerald H. Taranto, Jordi Blasco, Manuela Ramos, Laurence Fauconnet, Cristina G. Zárate, Marina Carreiro-Silva Main achievements: Successfully tested the new design of the low-cost drift-cam system developed at IMAR Exploration of over 80 km of seabed down to 750 m depth in 8 different areas for which little or no information of its benthic communities was available Discovery of new sites that host diverse coral gardens and sponge grounds that were unknown to science New data on the distribution of VMEs in the seamounts of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Objectives: To explore deep-sea areas of the Azores EEZ to better understand the distribution patterns of large VME species and commercial fishes. Specifically, the objectives of the cruise were to (i) continue the characterization of benthic communities inhabiting the slopes of Terceira and neighboring submarine ridges, (ii) identify new areas that may fit the FAO definition of what constitutes a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem; and (iii) to contribute with additional data to address patterns and drivers of the distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores region. It will also provide valuable information in the context of Good Environmental Status (GES), Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and provide new insights on how to sustainably manage deep-sea ecosystems. Vessel: R/V Pelagia Chief scientist: Fleur Visser (NIOZ) Scientific team: Manuela Ramos (IMAR-UAç) Cruise summary: Six new dives were performed by the towed camera system of R/V Pelagia during the cruise. Four dives were performed on the southern Terceira island depression, covering a depth range between 1300 and 1900 m. The remaining two dives were performed in the Serreta Ridge, WNW of Terceira, between 780 and 1100 m depth. Overall, we collected 6 h of new video footage.

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Abstract Deep‐sea exploration relies on cutting‐edge technology, which generally requires expensive instruments, highly specialized technicians and ship time. The increasing need to gather large‐scale data on the distribution and conservation status of deep‐sea benthic species and habitats could benefit from the availability of low‐cost imaging tools to facilitate the access to the deep sea world‐wide. Here we describe the Azor drift‐cam, a cost‐effective video platform designed to conduct rapid appraisals of deep‐sea benthic habitats. Built with off‐the‐shelf components, the Azor drift‐cam should be regarded as an effective, affordable, simple‐to‐assemble, easy‐to‐operate, resilient, operational and reliable tool to visually explore the deep sea to 1,000 m depth. Its performance was assessed during the MapGES_2019 cruise, where 135 successful dives between 100 and 800 m depth were carried out in 22 working days, providing over 100 hr of images for almost 80 km of seabed, mostly in areas that had never been explored before. The system does not aim to become a substitute for more sophisticated underwater video and photography platforms, such as ROVs, AUVs or manned submersibles. Rather, it aims to provide the means to perform quick assessments of deep‐sea benthic habitats in a simple and affordable manner. This drift‐cam system has the potential to make deep‐sea exploration more accessible, playing an important role in the Deep‐Ocean Observing Strategy and measuring some of the Essential Ocean Variables for deep‐sea monitoring and conservation strategies.

Abandoned, lost, or discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), represents a significant percentage of the global plastic pollution, currently considered one of the major sources from sea-based activities. However, there is still limited understanding of the quantities of ALDFG present on the seafloor and their impacts. In this study, data on the presence of ALDFG was obtained from a large archive of seafloor video footage (351 dives) collected by different imaging platforms in the Azores region over 15 years (2006-2020). Most ALDFG items observed in the images relate to the local bottom longline fishery operating in the region, and include longlines but also anchors, weights, cables and buoys. A generalized additive mixed model (GAMM) was used to predict the distribution and abundance of ALDFG over the seafloor within the limits of the Azores Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) using a suite of environmental and anthropogenic variables. We estimated an average of 113 ± 310 items km^-2 (597 ± 756 per km^-2 above 1000 m depth), which could imply that over 20 million ALDFG items are present on the deep seafloor of the Azores EEZ. The resulting model identified potential hotspots of ALDFG along the seabed, some of them located over sensitive benthic habitats, such as specific seamounts. In addition, the interactions between ALDFG and benthic organisms were also analysed. Numerous entanglements were observed with several species of large anthozoans and sponges. The use of predictive distribution modelling for ALDFG should be regarded as a useful tool to support ecosystem-based management, which can provide indirect information about fishing pressure and allow the identification of potential high-risk areas. Additional knowledge about the sources, amounts, fates and impacts of ALDFG will be key to address the global issue of plastic pollution and the effects of fishing on marine ecosystems.