A characterization of the deep-sea coral and sponge community along the California, Oregon, and Washington coasts using a remotely operated vehicle on the EXPRESS 2019 expedition

NOAA’s Deep-Sea Coral Research Technology Program (DSCRTP) began a 4-year funding initiative for the U.S. West Coast in 2018. The goals of the West Coast Deep-Sea Coral Initiative were to: 1) gather baseline information on DSCS in areas subject to fishing regulation changes prior to the implementation of Amendment 28; 2) improve our understanding of known DSCS bycatch “hot spots”; and 3) explore and assess DSCS resources within NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries with emphasis on areas of sanctuary resource protection and management concerns. Following the 2018 research expedition supported by NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada (Laidig et al., 2021), a second research cruise was planned for 2019 to further survey seafloor communities in priority areas off the West Coast from Washington to California. The 2019 expedition spanned 35 days (4 Oct – 7 Nov) and was conducted from the NOAA Ship Reuben Lasker (hereafter referred to as “the ship”), beginning and ending in San Diego, CA. Surveys were conducted in deeper areas (generally 500-1200 m) in 2019 than in 2018 (limited to <650 m). These two expeditions provide data on seafloor communities and DSCS assemblages over a broad range of depths 50-1200 m.