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Deep-sea fish are fish that live in the darkness below the sunlit surface waters, that is below the epipelagic or photic zone of the sea. The lanternfish is, by far, the most common deep-sea fish. Other deep-sea fishes include the flashlight fish , cookiecutter shark , bristlemouths , anglerfish , viperfish , and some species of eelpout .
Flounders ambush their prey, feeding at soft muddy areas of the sea bottom, near bridge piles, docks, and coral reefs. A flounder's diet consists mainly of fish spawn, crustaceans, polychaetes and small fish. Flounder typically grow to a length of 22–60 centimeters (8.7–23.6 in), and as large as 95 centimeters (37 in).
Demersal fish can be divided into two main types: strictly benthic fish which can rest on the sea floor, and benthopelagic fish which can float in the water column just above the sea floor. Benthopelagic fish have neutral buoyancy , so they can float at depth without much effort, while strictly benthic fish are denser, with negative buoyancy so ...
Demersal zone – the zone at or near the bottom of a sea or lake. Inhabitants of the demersal zone feed off the bottom or off other demersal fish. See also pelagic zone. Demersal fish – fish that live in the demersal zone. Examples are cod, flounder and snapper. Compared to pelagic fish, demersal fish contain little oil. See also bottom feeder.
A major source of food for many marine animals, lanternfish are an important link in the food chain of many local ecosystems, being heavily preyed upon by whales and dolphins, large pelagic fish such as salmon, tuna and sharks, grenadiers and other deep-sea fish (including other lanternfish), pinnipeds, sea birds, notably penguins, and large ...
The pelagic zone contrasts with the benthic and demersal zones at the bottom of the sea. The benthic zone is the ecological region at the very bottom, including the sediment surface and some subsurface layers. Marine organisms such as clams and crabs living in this zone are called benthos. Just above the benthic zone is the demersal zone.
Lanternfish account for as much as 65 percent of all deep sea fish biomass and are largely responsible for the deep scattering layer of the world's oceans. The phantom bottom is caused by the sonar misinterpreting as the ocean floor a layer of small seagoing creatures that congregate between 1,000 and 1,500 feet (300 and 460 m) below the surface.
Bottom trawling is trawling (towing a trawl, which is a fishing net) along the seafloor. It is also referred to as "dragging". The scientific community divides bottom trawling into benthic trawling and demersal trawling. Benthic trawling is towing a net at the very bottom of the ocean and demersal trawling is towing a net just above the benthic ...