A Black rockcod investigates the basket of fishysnacks attached to a baited remote underwater video (BRUV) system. Lord Howe moray eels slide out from their coral hiding spots, swaying in the ocean currents and edging closer to check out what’s on offer. They’re joined by curious fish that live and feed among the coral and along the seafloor. A tiger shark and a school of Galapagos sharks slowly cruise past, and a stingray glides in to see what the fuss is about...

This is just a snapshot of the underwater action our IMAS researchers captured in the deeper sunlit ‘mesophotic’ ecosystems of the Elizabeth and Middleton reefs in the Lord Howe Marine Park.

Our researchers travelled to the world’s southernmost coral reefs aboard the UTAS Australian Maritime College vessel, TV Bluefin, as partners in a major Geoscience Australialed NESP Marine Biodiversity Hub expedition to map and sample the two isolated seamounts.

This research and the baseline data it provided is critical to understanding if these deeper and potentially cooler waters offer a refuge for many coral species and their associated fish communities. It has also established an important snapshot of the current conditions, against which scientists can monitor future changes in response to warming waters and to protection efforts within this large offshore Marine Park.