Case Study: Submersible Equipped with Deep Sea Camera Makes Scientific Discovery in French Polynesia
Overview
What started as routine training ended in the first ever recorded sighting of a “Prickly Shark" in French Polynesia. The discovery was made during a dive with a SEAmagine Aurora submersible, equipped with a SubC 1Cam Mk6 deep-sea camera.
The Customer
SEAmagine Hydrospace Corporation, a SubC customer since 2017, designs and manufactures 2-7 person submersibles and private submarines. They are primarily used for scientific and professional expeditions, the defense sector, or for private use on luxury yachts. Founded in 1995, they pioneered and remain at the forefront of the personal submersible industry.
Their submersibles can be equipped with a wide range of optional subsea devices or custom tools. More than 12,000 dives have been performed on SEAmagine subs in depths running from 100 meters to 2,300 meters. It was on one such dive with an Aurora submersible that the scientific discovery was made.
The Discovery
During a dive to train a submersible pilot of a private yacht, the team observed a mature male prickly shark at depth of 500m. The discovery was made on the outer slope of the barrier reef off the island of Moorea, making it the first-ever sighting of the rare species in French Polynesia. The record of the scientific find was published in Cybium, The International Journal of Ichthyology. The paper, titled “First record of prickly shark Echinorhinus cookei (Pietschmann, 1928) (Chondrichthyes: Echinorhinidae) in French Polynesia (Eastern Tropical Pacific)” details the account and findings.
The Prickly Shark
The prickly shark (Echinorhinus cookei) is one of two species of shark in the family Echinorhinidae, the other being the bramble shark. The sluggish prickly shark is characterized by two small dorsal fins and numerous, thorn-like denticles on the body. Nocturnally active, these sharks can grow up to 4 meters in total length.
Prickly sharks are slow swimmers and live in waters at depths between 11 meters and 580 meters. Since they are vulnerable to deepwater trawling and line fishing, the shark has been listed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Redlist for Endangered Species.
The Subsea Camera That Captured Discovery
The Aurora submersible used when the discovery was made was equipped with a 1Cam subsea camera. This camera, now in its sixth generation, has a depth rating of 6000m and a 20x optical zoom lens. The 1Cam features high-quality SD color optical zoom that offers built-in 4K / HD video recording and 16.6MP digital stills with the ability to transfer footage and data topside via USB.
The Value of Submersibles and Citizen Science
Manned submersibles, like those designed and manufactured by SEAmagine, are an ideal tool for making marine discoveries, whether you’re a scientist or a member of the general public. Since they are a popular feature onboard yachts, submersibles are able to make dives and gather data in some of the most remote areas of our oceans. This data can then be easily shared, making it a crucial part of citizen science.
Citizen science is the active public involvement in scientific research. People have been participating in citizen science for ages, like when sailors in the 1800s noted down currents and wind to better predict ocean hazards. However, the term was only coined in the mid-1990s.
Dives using submersibles allow teams to get down there in the environment to observe the life in its natural habitat and make data collections. They have become an increasingly valuable source of citizen science and scientific knowledge, as proved by the discovery of the prickly shark in French Polynesia.
