WEBVTT

1
00:00:02.803 --> 00:00:07.943
You ready to go down? Pilot is
ready to descend.

2
00:00:09.223 --> 00:00:12.323
Today, we're going to be
targeting approximately 1800

3
00:00:12.323 --> 00:00:16.083
meters hoping for sponges and
corals and all the interesting

4
00:00:16.083 --> 00:00:19.603
organisms that associate with
them.

5
00:00:28.383 --> 00:00:32.763
I'm not sure that me personally
in the Atlantic, I've ever seen

6
00:00:32.763 --> 00:00:37.763
this much coral in one place.
It's incredible.

7
00:00:38.663 --> 00:00:42.643
The only way you can have all
of this coral and all of the

8
00:00:42.643 --> 00:00:46.283
sponges blanketing the seafloor
is if there's all kinds of food

9
00:00:46.283 --> 00:00:50.203
being produced above it in the
water. The phytoplankton that

10
00:00:50.203 --> 00:00:53.603
are using the sun's energy
sink down here. These are the

11
00:00:53.603 --> 00:00:56.443
beneficiaries of all that food
sinking through the water

12
00:00:56.443 --> 00:01:00.923
column. All these information
being used to inform the

13
00:01:00.923 --> 00:01:04.163
regional government of the
Azores and the designation of

14
00:01:04.163 --> 00:01:08.203
new marine protected areas. The aim
of the regional government is

15
00:01:08.203 --> 00:01:13.583
to protect 30% of the EEZ by
twenty twenty-three. So all the

16
00:01:13.583 --> 00:01:17.143
information is extremely
valuable to inform those

17
00:01:17.143 --> 00:01:19.743
decisions.