Goosefish
At the end of their very first ROV dive, NOAA scientists spotted this goosefish, a type of angler fish that sits and waits for prey, using its lure to attract victims on the sea floor. Although the fish was a weird and welcome site for mission biologists, it was also an indicator of environmental loss.
The angler was in a field of rubble at the top of an underwater seamount, in an apparently decimated coral field—which is a preferred type of habitat for goosefish. Prior to reaching the summit, scientists had expected the area to be teeming with living corals, but instead they found signs of destruction. They didn’t immediately know the exact circumstances of how all the coral was damaged but theorized that commercial fishing or other industrial activity may have been at fault, a NOAA spokesperson told Gizmodo in an email.
