4K Footage of Unusual Fish from Thousands of Feet Below the Ocean

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) recently updated the camera system on its deep-sea remote-operated vehicles (ROVs) which allows them to capture incredibly detailed footage of the deep sea’s denizens.

MBARI replaced its aged 1080i camera — which was first installed on its underwater ROVs 20 years ago — with the new camera in late 2021. The upgraded camera system can now capture 4K UHD which has four times the resolution of Full HD video at 3840 x 2160 pixels.

While MBARI has shared some footage that has been captured with its new camera system over the last few months, the new eight-minute video it uploaded to celebrate World Ocean Day is the longest such clip it has shared since the installation of the upgraded camera.

The video starts with clips of a grooved tanner crab and blacktail snailfish which was captured at a depth of 2,989 feet, as well as a feather boa siphonophore shot at an incredible 4,439 foot depth. It then moves on to a clip of the strawberry squid that was captured at a depth of 1,591 feet, which serves as a second look at the creature that MBARI originally shared in March.

The video moves on to show the eastern Pacific black ghostshark, a giant siphonophore, a dep-sea skate, a giant larvacean, a slime star, an angler shrimp, a basket star, a scallop comb jelly, a blob sculpin, a swordtail squid, a sea anemone with pom-pom anemone, a bloody-belly comb jelly, pink bamboo coral, an octopus squid, a longspine thornyhead, oven mitt comb jelly, a vermilion crab on bubblegum coral, a snow globe jelly, a fingered goblet sponge, and finally a vampire squid.

One of the reasons MBARI shares so many clips of fascinating creatures on its YouTube channel is to inspire curiosity about the creatures which it hopes will compel viewers to help with their conservation.

“The ocean and its inhabitants face a rising tide of threats. Pollution, overfishing, and climate change make for an uncertain future,” MBARI writes. “We’re working to understand this incredible habitat and how animals there will navigate these changes. The ocean needs our help. All life—including us—depends on a healthy ocean.”

More on MBARI’s efforts to address climate change can be found on the organization’s website.