Photo: New England Aquarium
BOSTON (WBZNewsRadio) - A group of scientists with the New England Aquarium recently completed an aerial survey about 150 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.
The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument was designated as the first marine national monument in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean back in 2016, by then-President Barack Obama. It remains the only marine national monument in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean and is home to a vast marine population. The area is also home to three deep underwater canyons and four seamounts, also known as extinct volcanoes. The canyons measure deeper than the Grand Canyon
“The Aquarium has been documenting the marine mammal biodiversity in the Monument for seven years, and every aerial survey flight is breathtaking,” said Orla O’Brien, an associate scientist in the Aquarium’s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life. “Our photos only scratch the surface of the ocean life that calls this area home.”
During the survey on August 3rd, scientists captured images of more than 700 animals, including bottlenose, striped and Risso's dolphins, fin and pilot whales, Chilean devil rays, manta rays, sunfish and even a hammerhead shark.