Corals and Sponges in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
Enjoy never-before-seen footage captured at nearly 400 metres depth by the Canadian remotely operated vehicle ROPOS to explore the deep, cold and dark waters of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and discover a great diversity of animal species, each more surprising than the last.
These images were filmed south of Anticosti Island during a scientific expedition held in summer 2017 in what is now one of 11 cold-water coral and sponge conservation areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
This video sheds light on hardly accessible seafloor areas that have little or never been explored until now, and is punctuated by explanations from three Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientists revealing the role of corals and sponges in the ecosystem and the importance of their protection.
Transcript
Narrator: Beneath the Gulf of St. Lawrence water surface, south of Anticosti Island, lies the Eastern Honguedo Strait coral and sponge conservation area. It covers more than 2,300 square kilometres. Here, the channel is nearly 400 metres deep, more than four times the height of Percé Rock. An environment without light, the seabed is surprisingly beautiful.
On-screen text: 400 m, 4 x height of Percé Rock
On-screen text:
Virginie Roy
Research Scientist
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Virginie Roy: Corals and sponges are fascinating animals. We often think they’re not animals, but they are. They have neither eyes nor ears. They’re truly incredible structures that provide habitats for other species. We know little about this area because it’s hard to reach but now, for the first time, we’ve captured images of living animals – sponges and corals – in this natural habitat on the ocean floor.
Geneviève Faille: The robotic submersible ROPOS allows us to collect samples. It is really very interesting to be able to collect entire organisms from the seabed – sponges and sea pens – and bring them up to the surface intact.
Narrator: Sea pens feature strongly in the Honguedo Strait. They rise from the seabed, scattered throughout the vast area. Deep in the channel, they find the ideal conditions they need to thrive.
On-screen text:
Geneviève Faille
Aquatic Sciences Biologist
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Geneviève Faille: Sea pens are soft corals. They are actually a group of small animals that join together to form a colony.
On-screen text:
Marilyn Thorne
Aquatic Science Technician
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Marilyn Thorne: All soft corals play a similar role in the environment and in the ecosystem. For instance, sea pens can provide shelter for some species and serve as pantries since a number of small crustaceans take shelter there.
Geneviève Faille: Soft corals also play a role in creating habitats for other species because sea pens can be from 10 to 50 and even 60 centimetres tall.
Narrator: Life is present everywhere, even beneath the seabed; some of these animals species have existed since the dawn of time.
On-screen text and images:
Brittle star
Sea mouse
Mud star
Atlantic Hagfish
Narrator: Of all the creatures inhabiting the bottom of the Laurentian Channel, the Atlantic Hagfish is one of the most mysterious. It buries itself in the mud, surging out only to hunt for prey. It’s an animal that has changed very little since it first appeared over 320 million years ago.
Geneviève Faille: In this deep area of the Laurentian channel, there are also boulders that are somewhat like oases of life, and they’ve been colonized by a multitude of species of sponges, anemones and even other organisms.
Narrator: Many visitors have adapted to life in these deep waters: amongst them, the Porbeagle, Atlantic Cod, Redfish, and some ray species. All of them find conditions here that meet some of what they need to survive. The Eastern Honguedo Strait conservation area is one of 11 areas selected by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to foster the conservation of corals and sponges, fragile and vulnerable organisms.
Geneviève Faille: It’s really important to preserve sea pens – and all corals and sponges – because they are part of the marine biodiversity, along with all the species inhabiting the marine environment.
Marilyn Thorne: These areas serve as habitats and foraging grounds for several species. We truly hope that in 10, 20, 30 years time, we’ll see a marked improvement in this environment.
Narrator: It is crucial to pool our efforts to fully understand the role these unique species play and their interactions with other organisms in their ecosystems… and, more generally, to improve the health and productivity of deep waters for the benefit of future generations.
End of video text: Exploration in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
From August 23 to 30, 2017, scientists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada explored difficult to access areas in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Their mission enabled them to collect samples of significant deep coastal habitats and species in four key zones of the gulf: the northern and southern sections of the Laurentian Channel, the American Bank, and the Cape Breton Trough.
Credit for underwater video:
Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility/ROPOS,
Oceana Canada and Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada
©Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada, as represented by the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, 2018
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