Red cusk-eels (Genypterus chilensus) — a commercially important fish highly valued in Chile — swim around a tubeworm mound near a methane seep explored for the Exploring Deep-Sea Methane Seeps Along the Chile Margin project. The importance of chemosynthetic ecosystems in sustaining their populations has not been previously observed.
Cusk-Eels and Tubeworms
Image courtesy of ROV SuBastian/Schmidt Ocean Institute.
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Red cusk-eels (Genypterus chilensus) — a commercially important fish highly valued in Chile — swim around a tubeworm mound near a methane seep explored for the Exploring Deep-Sea Methane Seeps Along the Chile Margin project. The importance of chemosynthetic ecosystems in sustaining their populations has not been previously observed.