"Flaming headless chicken monster deep sea" filmed in the Southern Ocean

A dancer from the fascinating depths of the name of Enypniastes eximia is enjoying a moment in the spotlight after being filmed in the Southern Ocean off eastern Antarctica for the first time in this region. Sea cucumber images, commonly referred to as "headless chicken monster", come from the new underwater camera technology used by researchers to contribute to the conservation efforts of the sea.

The Australian Antarctic Division, part of the Australian Department of Environment and Energy, broadcast a video of this holotheroid on Sunday. According to the division, Enypniastes eximia had previously been filmed only in the Gulf of Mexico.

According to the Australian National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), this remarkable little creature – one of the hundreds of known species of sea cucumber – spends most of its time. his time floating on the sea floor and using his "modified tubular legs" to feed on surface sediments. . They can swim as they wish and use palm-shaped structures to escape predators or to lift themselves from the bottom of the ocean. Sea cucumbers are an important part of the marine ecosystem – they are sometimes called sea vacuums – but some are on the verge of extinction as a result of overfishing.

Originally developed by the Australian Antarctic Division for commercial use in the longline fishery, the underwater camera technology that captures the marine invertebrate is used by the division to collect data for Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Fauna and Flora (CCAMLR), an international commission that focuses on the conservation of Antarctic marine life. Australia is one of the 25 members of the commission.

"Some of the images we receive from the cameras are breathtaking, including species we have never seen in this part of the world," said Dirk Welsford, Program Manager of the Australian Antarctic Division, in a statement. . "More importantly, the cameras provide important information about areas of the seabed that can withstand this type of fishing and sensitive areas to avoid."

Welsford added that the exceptionally sustainable technology of underwater cameras is a "very simple and practical solution that directly contributes to improving sustainable fishing practices". The data collected by the division will be presented at the CCAMLR Annual Meeting in Hobart, Tasmania, which will begin Monday until November 2nd.

Gillian Slocum, Australian Commissioner to CCAMLR, underlined in a statement the importance of protecting the diversity of marine life in the Southern Ocean, "including commercially valuable species, whose exploitation must be carefully managed for future generations ".