During today’s dive, we explored the deepest portions of the Buck Island Reef National Monument and surrounding waters located approximately four miles north of St. Croix. The remotely operated vehicle (ROV) landed on the seafloor at a depth of 1,812 meters (5,944 feet) just outside the boundary of the Monument and then headed southwards inside Monument waters. The first part of the dive consisted mostly of sedimented slopes, where the demersal fishes Bathysaurus sp., Ipnops miraer, Bathypterois grallator, and Aldrovandia sp. were observed, as well as sparse colonies of sea pens, unbranched bamboo corals, and sponges. Two wood falls were also seen during this portion of the dive, one of which was inhabited by small crustaceans and the other by squat lobsters. Sea cucumbers were one of the most abundant invertebrates during the dive, with three species identified, including several Enypniastes sp. holothurians that were seen swimming in the water column.

During the second half of the dive, the substrate transitioned to rocky outcrops and ledge formations, which were overgrown with substantial encrusting and attached fauna. This included a diversity of corals, including black corals (Bathypathes spp., Heteropathes cf. americana, Stichopathes sp., Parantipathes sp.); octocorals (Anthomastus sp., Stolonifera, Metallogorgia melanotrichos, Iridogorgia splendens, possibly Cladarisis sp., stylasterids (Crypthelia sp.); and occasional sea pens (Umbellula sp.), the latter of which occurred exclusively on soft bottom areas. Metallogorgia melanotrichos was the most abundant deepwater coral on hard-bottom substrates explored during the dive. The ROV left the seafloor at a final depth of 1,607 meters (5,272 feet), thereby culminating the deepest dive ever conducted inside the Buck Island Reef National Monument.