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To most of us, the ocean is a no man’s land — a vast, bottomless and uncharted void. Three-quarters of the ocean has never been seen by humans, and only a quarter of its floor has been mapped in detail, which means we have a better understanding of the surface of Mars than we do of the seas on our own planet. It is this lack of exploration and appreciation — particularly of the layer of cold, dark water that begins where light fades, known as the ocean’s twilight zone — that has led us to a very precarious place.
Recently, scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution wrapped up the most comprehensive study of the twilight zone in history, helping to establish that some 11 billion tons of microorganisms, crustaceans, squid, fish and gelatinous animals that live there are helping to draw down a third of the carbon dioxide emitted by human activity, likely saving us and our planet from catastrophic climate change.
Just as we are learning to appreciate the extraordinary service of creatures in the twilight zone, companies that manufacture feed for industrial fish farms, fertilizer and omega-3 supplements are preparing to exploit it. Right now nations are considering authorizing commercial fishing fleets to grind life in the twilight zone into fish meal, fertilizer and plant food. Before they move forward with these plans, it would be wise to hit pause so we can understand how that decision will affect our planet.
Mass migration of life in the twilight zone — which can be found in the deepest parts of the ocean, between 650 feet deep and 3,300 feet deep — was first discovered in World War II, when sonar operators on the U.S.S. Jasper recorded an acoustic signature of what looked like the seafloor rising up. After studying the signature further, they realized the layer was alive, and that it rose and fell with the cadence of Earth’s rotation. What they were witnessing was the largest migration of animal life on the planet: trillions of creatures (copepods, bioluminescent lanternfish and basking sharks) swimming to the surface at night to feed, then sinking at dawn to hide in the depths.
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