Photos: Marine Life In The Sargasso Sea

September 11, 2019

Nature photographer Shane Gross has an eye for sea creatures both great and small.

The Canadian-born, Bahamas-based photojournalist returned from Greenpeace’s recent expedition into the Sargasso Sea with these stunning images of some of the myriad types of marine life which abound there.

Mr. Gross was aboard the environmental group’s research vessel Esperanza when it travelled from Bermuda into the unique North Atlantic ecosystem last month to study the effects of plastics and microplastics on sea life.

He was among the scientists, researchers and students from 17 countries, including Bermuda’s J.P. Rouja from the local Nonsuch Expeditions project, who participated in the expedition.

“We tend to think of the open ocean as a vast watery desert, devoid of life.” said Mr. Gross in a blog piece he wrote on capturing these nighttime photos .

“Nothing could be further from the truth, especially [in] the Sargasso Sea, an area in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean which hosts a type of seaweed called sargassum.

“Here, the weed grows on the surface which provides much-needed habitat for baby sea turtles, and hundreds of fish and invertebrate species. Every night the world’s largest migration happens where many deep-water species come to the surface under the cover of darkness.”

The voyage to the Sargasso was part of Greenpeace’s ambitious Pole to Pole expedition aimed at highlighting the threats facing international waters – from the Arctic to the Antarctic – and the urgent need for their protection under a proposed new Global Ocean Treaty.

A flying fish at night near the surface in the Sargasso sea.