Deep-sea discovery: New fish found at a depth of over 26K ft

Scientists have newly discovered fish more than 26,000 feet below sea level. Only very specialized creatures can survive in this kind of extreme environment.

Australian and Japanese marine biologists have newly discovered fish at a depth of more than 26,000 feet, setting a new record. Never before has a fish been spotted so far below the ocean surface.

This new finding surpasses the previous record by approximately 524 feet. In addition, two fish were caught for the first time at depths below 26,000 feet.

The extraordinary find was made in the Boning Trench, south of Japan. The research team used a diving robot to reach these depths, which was equipped with bait and a camera.

The fish found have small, dark eyes, a transparent body and somewhat resemble the shape of tadpoles. They do not have a swim bladder, which is what usually enables fish to maintain depth without floating or sinking.

To survive at this depth, the entire organism must be adapted to the extreme environmental conditions. In the deep sea trenches it is cold, dark and the water pressure is enormous.

At the site where the fish was found, this pressure is more than 800 times the atmospheric pressure to which we humans are exposed to. This is comparable to the pressure that the weight of several hundred trucks would exert on one square meter.

For recreational divers, it gets tricky after just a few dozen meters. With special pressure suits, dives to a depth of around 1,476 feet are within the realm of possibility, but at several thousand feet, the human body and all its organs would simply be crushed.