CMarZ Related Cruises

CMarZ maintains a list of research cruises, fisheries resource and environmental surveys, ships of opportunity, and commercial fishing or shipping vessel tracks. Cruises are listed by ocean region

Form to submit information on CMarZ related cruises.

I.

Arctic Ocean

  Antarctic / Arctic. Zooplankton sampling during 2006 included a transect across the South Atlantic from Punta Arenas to Cape Town on the RV Polarstern and a transect across the Greenland Sea from Longyearbyen, Svalbard to Reykjavik, Iceland on the RV Merian. The study, funded by German Science Foundation (DFG), evaluated speciation processes and ecological niches of deep-sea copepods in polar seas. [CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schiel]

  The Chinese Antarctic Expedition during February/March 2006 yielded zooplankton samples for taxonomic analysis through CMarZ. Identified specimens are being DNA barcoded. [CMarZ contact: Sun Song

   NW Pacific Ocean; Arctic Ocean. RV UmiTaka-Maru: Gelatinous zooplankton sampling near Japan with CAML, ArcOD and CEAMARC; Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology during 23 Jan - 17 Feb 2008. [CMarZ contact: Dhugal Lindsay and Russ Hopcroft]

   Pacific- Arctic Ocean. Zooplankton was collected using nets and IKMT from the  during the 3rd Chinese Arctic Expedition. The survey focused on the zooplankton biodiversity in the high latitude sea. during July to September 2008. [CMarZ contact: Sun Song]

II.

Antarctic / Southern Ocean

  Western  Weddell Sea from the RV Polarstern (November 2004 - January 2005) [A5; CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schie

 Cruise of the Hakuho-Maru (KH-04-5) during November 2004 to March 2005 from the Antarctic to tropical North Pacific along 170oW longitude during November 2004 to March 2005. [CMarZ contact: Shuhei Nishida]

  Zooplankton sampling were carried out during four cruise legs of the R/V Polarstern: Lazarev Sea (November 2005 - January 2006 and June - August 2006); Bellingshausen Sea (February - April 2006 ); and western Weddell Sea (August - October 2006) [CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schiel]

  Antarctic / Arctic. Zooplankton sampling during 2006 included a transect across the South Atlantic from Punta Arenas to Cape Town on the RV Polarstern and a transect across the Greenland Sea from Longyearbyen, Svalbard to Reykjavik, Iceland on the RV Merian. The study, funded by German Science Foundation (DFG), evaluated speciation processes and ecological niches of deep-sea copepods in polar seas. [CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schie

 Antarctic/Southern Ocean. The Chinese Antarctic Expedition during February/March 2006 yielded zooplankton samples for taxonomic analysis through CMarZ. Identified specimens are being DNA barcoded. [CMarZ contact: Sun Song]

 NW Pacific Ocean - Southern Ocean. Investigation on the structure and function zooplankton community in the Southern Ocean Ecosystem carried in conjunction with Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition (CHINARE). during October 2007 - March 2008. [CMarZ contact: Sun Song]

  The Norwegian Antarctic Survey was conducted in the Atlantic region of the Southern Ocean, mainly between 50 and 70°S. The first leg started in Montevideo, Uruguay, ending in Cape Town, South Africa, while the second leg started in Cape Town and ended in Walvis Bay, Namibia. During the survey samples of micro-, meso- and macrozooplankton  were sampled with vertical net hauls (90 m), MOCNESS (180 m) and macroplankton trawl (3000 m). Samples with the MOCNESS and the trawl are depth resolved down to 750 m. Sub-samples were fixed on alcohol for subsequent sorting and genetic analyses (responsible Ann Bucklin and Webjørn Melle). CMarZ participation on the second leg by CMarZ Steering Committee members Drs. Peter Wiebe (WHOI) and Webjørn Melle (IMR) and PhD student Paola Batta Lona. All macrozooplankton samples were sorted and species/species groups were identified to lowest taxonomic level possible, counted, weighed and body length measured, on board. MOCNESS and net samples preserved in formalin will be analyzed subsequently in the lab at IMR. 4 January - 27 March 2008. [CMarZ contact: Webjørn Melle]

  NW Pacific OCean - Southern Ocean. Zooplankton was collected using nets and IKMT from the R/V Xuelong in the Pacific-the southern Ocean during the 24th Chinese Antarctic Expedition. Cruise: November 2008 to April 2009. [CMarZ contact: Song Sun]

  Antarctic/Southern Ocean. Bellingshausen and Amundsen Seas. Zooplankton sampling with a multinet in the Pacific ACC. Cruise: Nov 2009 - Jan 2010. [CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schiel]

  NW Pacific Ocean. CMarZ-related research in Sagami Bay:
1) Zooplankton community structure
2) VPR/ROV observations on gelatinous plankton and marine snow
3) Life-history study on Calanus spp.
4) Feeding ecology of mesopelagic copepods. Cruises: April, November 2009 and March 2010. PI's: Nagata, T., Nishida, S., and Nishida, S., respectively [CMarZ contact: S. Nishida]

Pacific - Antarctic Ocean. Cruise from China to Antarctica. October 2009-April 2010. [CMarZ contact: Song Sun]

III.

Indian Ocean

  The French program OISO may provide opportunities for CMarZ sampling of zooplankton in the Indian Ocean. The lead for this program is Nicolas Metzl. [CMarZ contact: Colomban de Vargas]

  SW Indian Ocean: African Coelocanth Ecology Programme (ACEP) off the east coast of Southern Africa,including Tanzania, Mozambique and South Africa. (August 2004 and April-May 2005) [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye]  

  SW Indian Ocean: 'Madex' cruise on RRS Discovery south of Madagascar. (February 2005)  [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye]

  SE Asia: Samples collected using scuba diving, nets and ROV during an expedition to the Celebes Sea,  Indonesia  in the fall of 2007.  Funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration, the National Geographic Society and Conservation International, the project is titled 'Inner-space Speciation Project'. (Oct.-Nov., 2007) [CMarZ contact: Larry Madin] 

  SE Atlantic and SW Indian Oceans. FRS Africana. Collection of zooplankton samples using a 200-µm meshed Bongo net in the upper 200m at selected nearshore and offshore sites on the continental shelf in the SE Atlantic and SW Indian Ocean between the Orange River mouth on the South African west coast (28º30'S) and Port St Johns on the southeast coast (30ºE) during MCM's annual Pelagic Fish Recruit survey, during 19 May - 21 June 2008. [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye]

 SE Atlantic and SW Indian Oceans. FRS/ Africana. Collection of zooplankton samples using a 200-µm meshed Bongo net in the upper 200m at selected nearshore and offshore sites on the continental shelf in the SE Atlantic and SW Indian Ocean on the South African west, south and southeast coasts during Marine and Coastal Management's forthcoming annual Pelagic Fish Spawner Biomass survey. during October -December 2008. [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye]

 SW Atlantic and SW Indian Oceans. RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen. Collection of zooplankton samples using a variety of net systems at opportune sites during all 4 legs of the forthcoming ASCLME (Agulhas-Somali Currents Large Marine Ecosystem) cruise (the 1st of hopefully many) onboard the Norwegian R/V Dr Fridtjof Nansen in the SW Indian Ocean: off the south and east coasts of Madagascar (leg 1), around Mauritius (leg 2), on the Mascarene Plateau (leg 3), and in the Moçambique Channel (leg 4) during 23 Aug. - 11 Dec. 2008. [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye]

  Indian Ocean. PI: Otake, T., Research topics: Population genetics and molecular phylogeny of pelagic chaetognaths [CMarZ contact:Shuhei Nishida]

  S. Indian Ocean. Gelatinous zooplankton sampling off NW Australia. (JAMSTEC). Cruise: 2009. [CMarZ contact: Dhugal Lindsay]

IV.

N. Pacific Ocean

   "Structure and Biodiversity in Deep-Sea Pelagic Ecosystems in Southeast Asian Marginal Seas:Census of Marine Zooplankton Asian Regional Study"  Sampling to 5000m with IONESS-1, DSRV, Deep-tow system, Norpac net, ORI-net, IKMT, baited trap. Formalin/alcohol fixation. Day/night sampling. Morphological/genetic analysis.  Dedicated CMarZ cruise in the Philippine, Celebes, Sulu Seas.  Proposed for 2008. [CMarZ contact: Shuhei Nishida]

Comprehensive survey of zooplankton biodiversity. Collections will be made using nets, ROVs, and submersibles, as part of a field effort to be proposed to the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science during 2007/2008. [CMarZ contact: Shuhei Nishida]

   Many new species were found using the ROV "Tiburon" diving deeper than 2000m, SCUBA diving at the surface and deep night towing off Monterey Bay, California. 10-17 May and 27 Sept - 4 Oct 2006. See article [CMarZ contact: Steve Haddock]

   SEA sailing vessel SSV Robert C. Seamans sailed extensively in the central Pacific Ocean, collecting surface zooplankton samples in regions rarely sampled by oceanographic research vessels. ongoing [CMarZ contact: Peter Wiebe]

   A cruise will be sponsored by Japan Science Society, Oceanographic Society of Japan, and Tokai Univ. The title of this cruise is "Let's study the sea with research vessel", especially geared toward high school students. (31 July - 5 Aug. 2006) [CMarZ contact: Ryuji Machida]

  Hokaido to Tokyo, on a JAMSTEC ship.  Research focus on planktonic foraminifera; also analyses of other micro-biomineralizers such as radiolarians, diatoms, coccolithophoress, dinoflagellates, and even copepods. June 2006.  [CMarZ contact: Colomban de Vargas]

  Zooplankton sampling was done with a conical opening/closing net on the R/V Beidou during April 10-29 2006. [CMarZ contact: Sun Song

   A research cruise in Sagami Bay, coastal waters of Japan, sampled zooplankton for taxonomic analysis. (29 Nov.-10 Dec. 2005) [CMarZ contact: Shuhei Nishida]

  HOT (Hawaii Ocean Timeseries) cruises: HOT-cruise #169 (May 16 – 20, 2005) [CMarZ contact: Colomban de Vargas]

  Gulf of Alaska, US-GLOBEC, Seward Line cruise plan (8-12 May 2005 and 12-16 Oct. 2005) [CMarZ contact: Russ Hopcroft]  

  N. Pacific. HOT (Hawaii Ocean Time-Series) #203, HOT #205: short cruises provide access to highly diverse central gyre plankton communities of the N. Pacific.  The goals were to obtain RNAlater preserved material from 20 calanoid families for phylogenomic analysis.  Routine preservation of some plankton material from HOT cruise tows in 95% ETOH (each cruise where sufficient technical staff are present to preserve the material). All of these ETOH samples go into -20 for long-term storage. They are for CMarZ and other research.  Some of this material is for DNA Barcoding of station ALOHA copepods (at least species that are not represented in the current database). during July 25 - 29, 2008; Oct 9-13, 2008. [CMarZ contact: Erica Goetze]

 NW Pacific Ocean. RV Rinkai-Maru: Gelatinous zooplankton sampling near Japan; University of Tokyo, Japan during 7-17 January 2008. [CMarZ contact: Dhugal Lindsay]

 NW Pacific Ocean. RV Nagasaki-Maru: Gelatinous zooplankton sampling near Japan; Nagasaki University, Japan during 10-14 March 2008. [CMarZ contact: Dhugal Lindsay]

 NW Pacific Ocean. RV Rinkai-Maru: Gelatinous zooplankton sampling near Japan; University of Tokyo, Japan during 17-21 November 2008. [CMarZ contact: Dhugal Lindsay]

 NW Pacific Ocean; Arctic Ocean. RV UmiTaka-Maru: Gelatinous zooplankton sampling near Japan with CAML, ArcOD and CEAMARC; Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology during 23 Jan - 17 Feb 2008. [CMarZ contact: Dhugal Lindsay and Russ Hopcroft]

 NW Pacific, Kuroshio Region off southern Honshu. R/V Tansei-Maru, KT-08-21 Cruise.  PI: J. Nishikawa.  Research topics: Production and decomposition processes of faecal pellets of meso-zooplankton with special reference of thaliaceans. 29 Aug.-2 Sept., 2008. [CMarZ contact: Shuhei Nishida]

 NW Pacific, off Sanriku, Japan. Zooplankton and benthic community analysis, R/V Tansei-Maru, KT-08-28 Cruise.  PI: R.J. Machida during 28 Oct.-3 Nov., 2008. [CMarZ contact: Shuhei Nishida]

Tropical Pacific, Indonesia. Sample jellyfishes for CMarZ work, funded by JSPS during 9-14 September 2008. [CMarZ contact: Dhugal Lindsay]

Pacific, subtropical western. PI: K. Tsukamoto.  Research topics: Feeding ecology and identification of phyllosoma larvae of lobsters by using molecular markers [CMarZ contact: Shuhei Nishida]

 W. Pacific, Philippine Sea. PI:Tsukamoto, K. CMarZ-related research: 1) Molecular/morphological identification of phyllosoma larvae.  2) Trophic analysis of zooplankton communities applying stable-isotope ratios during April-May 2009. [CMarZ contact:Shuhei Nishida]

 N. Pacific. Student training cruise, UH Manoa OCN627. Cruise: 12-15 Feb 2009. [CMarZ contact: Erica Goetze]

NW Pacific. Open Research Cruise offshore China. Cruise: May15-June 15, 2009. [CMarZ contact: Song Sun]

NW Pacific. 3 Cruises for Chinese 973 project. Cruise: March 20-April 15, June, August. [CMarZ contact: Song Sun]

NW Pacific, Kuroshio area off Ryukyu Islands. Tansei-Maru KT-09-15 Cruise, PI: Nishida, S. Planned CMarZ-related research:
1) Zoogeography of Calanus spp.
2) Zooplankton community structure. Cruise: August, 2009. [2009 planned] [CMarZ contact: S. Nishida]

V.

S. Pacific Ocean

  COPAS Center research focused on upwelling dynamics and pelagic communities in the Eastern South Pacific. Multinet tows to 1000m.  March-June 2008. [CMarZ contact: Rubén Escribano]

  COPAS Time series of Concepcion.  Time series study started in 2002 and currently ongoing on a monthly scale over the shelf and seasonal at continental slope off Concepcion, Chile (36° S).  Stratified Tucker Trawls to 600m during Jan-Dec 2006-2010. [CMarZ contact: Rubén Escribano]

  Equatorial W. Pacific Ocean. Cruise led by James Murray (Univ. Washington, USA) transect from Hawaii to Papua New Guinea (140oW to 148oE) on the R/V Kilo Moana to sample water column and organisms for heavy metals, with ancillary sampling for CMarZ at 5 - 10 stations during August 15 - October 1, 2006. [CMarZ contact: Ann Bucklin]

  COPAS Center research focused on plankton communities in the oxygen minimun zone ecosystem of the Eastern South Pacific.  Multinet tows to 800m during October 2-12 (2006). [CMarZ contact: Rubén Escribano]

  Hakuho-Maru Cruise KH-04-5 from the Antarctic to tropical North Pacific (170W-line). Samples are available to the CMarZ Network. (November 2004 to March 2005) [CMarZ contact: Shuhei Nishida]

  Coastal ecosystems of Indonesia, including Spermonde Archipelago, Strait of Makassar, SW Sulawesi, with sampling from small boats. (Spring and Fall, 2005) [CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schiel

  A field sampling opportunity in and around Australia and the South Pacific in 2007 and 2008 is offered by Graham Short, owner of the 60-foot ketch Mustang.  Further details. [CMarZ contact: Ann Bucklin] 

S. Pacific. Ecological Roles of Medusae and Ctenophores in Indonesian Waters; field and laboratory research on species diversity, distribution, life history, and molecular genetics in the coastal waters of Indonesia, by using small boats and SCUBA diving, 2008-2010. PIs (Ohtsuka, S and Mulyadi) [CMarZ contact: S. Nishida]

 SE Pacific. COPAS Center research focused on upwelling dynamics and pelagic communities in the Eastern South Pacific. Multinet tows to 1000m during March-June 2008. [CMarZ contact: Rubén Escribano]

    VI.

 N. Atlantic Ocean and marginal seas

  Bongo samples around Scotland, in ethanol and formalin, during 2006. [CMarZ contact: Steve Hay]

  Annual survey in December to the Faroe-Shetland region. Specimen material is in ethanol and some in liquid nitrogen. [CMarZ contact: Steve Hay]

  Fisheries Research Services (FRS) , Marine Laboratory Aberdeen runs two Time Series Collections, similar to Roger Harris' L4 station at Plymouth, one station is on the Scottish west coast (since 2002) and one is near Aberdeen on the east coast (started 1997). Summarized data is incorporated in the ICES CRR -Plankton Status Report and reported on the FRS web site. Weekly plankton collections, environmental samples and measurements are made. This includes full species identifications and counts on phyto and meso-zooplankton (200µm). These background data, valuable to study seasonality etc in themselves, provide an excellent foundation for other short term studies of processes and such, and for validating model results. A few specimens and samples for other researchers can easily be collected. See link [CMarZ contact: Steve Hay]

  Exploring the Deep Sargasso Sea.  CMarZ  cruise on R/V Ron Brown from Charleston, SC to San Juan, Puerto Rico.  Funded by NOAA Ocean Exploration Program to sample the tropical/subtropical waters of the Atlantic Ocean west of the mid-Atlantic ridge (Northern Sargasso Sea, Southern Sargasso Sea, and North Equatorial Region east of the Leeward Islands), to collect and identify zooplankton distributed throughout the entire water column, with a particular focus on the under-sampled mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic zones. Zooplankton collections from near the seafloor to sea surface were made with 10-m2 MOCNESS, 1-m2 MOCNESS, and 0.25-m2 MOCNESS plus other equipment . (10-30 April 2006) [CMarZ contact: Peter Wiebe]

  US continental shelf regions:  Ecosystem monitoring by the US National Marine Fisheries Service from survey vessels on the northeast  US continental shelf makes quarterly collections of Bongo samples for CMarZ. (2001-2007) [CMarZ contact: Ann Bucklin]

  NW Atlantic Ocean: The SEA (Sea Education Association, Woods Hole, MA) vessel SSV Corwith Cramer collected samples in right whale feeding grounds in the Slope Water off Cape Cod, MA, and in the Gulf of Maine and east to Sable Island. (2004, 2005) [CMarZ contact: Peter Wiebe]

  Atlantic Meridional Transect cruise #16 (AMT-16) from Cape Town, South Africa to Falmouth, UK (May 15 - June 25, 2005) [CMarZ contact: Colomban de Vargas]

  Icelandic and Norwegian Seas were sampled during a herring survey by the Marine Research Institute on the R/V Árni Fridriksson during . Cruise details (17–30 May 2005) [CMarZ contact: Astthor Gislason, Institute of Marine Research, Iceland]

  Icelandic and Irminger Seas were sampled during the MRI Spring Survey during . See http://www.hafro.is/. (18-28 May 2005) [CMarZ contact: Astthor Gislason, Institute of Marine Research, Iceland]

  Mediterranean/Aegean Seas, Sea of Marmara R/V Bilim (March 2005) [CMarZ contact: Ahmet Kideys

  Offshore surveys for Mackerel eggs along the eastern Atlantic shelf edge. Gulf III 250µm samples to <200m, and many of these from 2004 have an ethanol preserved partner sample. This survey is part of a wider ICES triennial fisheries assessment survey involving a number of European countries, but the samples have only ever been analysed for fish larvae and eggs. The surveys and many archived samples date back some 25 years. Another cruise is planned for 2007. [CMarZ contact: Steve Hay]

  E Atlantic. R/V Maria S. Merian Collection of zooplankton samples using a variety of net systems (Bongo, WP-2, Multinet, MOCNESS, Ring trawl, etc.) and mesh sizes (ranging between 120 and 1000 µm) in the upper 800m at various sites during several of the 4 legs of a Pela-Gimber cruise, between Las Palmas (ca. 28ºN, Canary Islands) and Walvis Bay (ca. 23ºS off Namibia) and Mindelo (ca. 16ºN, Cape Verde Islands), during 11 February - 15 April 2008. [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye]

 N. Atlantic Ocean marginal seas. Sampled zooplankton, oxygen, salinity and temperature at 14 stations near Prens Island in NW Marmara Sea during 6 Feb. 2008. [CMarZ contact: Ahmet Kideys]

 N. Atlantic Ocean marginal seas. Sampled zooplankton, oxygen, salinity and temperature at 8 stations in SW Black Sea and the Bosporus during 22-23 February 2008. [CMarZ contact: Ahmet Kideys]

 N. Atlantic Ocean marginal seas. Sampled zooplankton, oxygen, salinity and temperature at 13 stations: Izmit Bay, Prens Island and Bosporus in NW Marmara Sea during April-August 2008. [CMarZ contact: Ahmet Kideys]

 N. Atlantic Ocean marginal seas. Sampled zooplankton, oxygen, salinity and temperature at 8 stations in E. Mediterranean Sea during 10-25 July 2008. [CMarZ contact: Ahmet Kideys]

 NW Atlantic. Salp collection for genetic barcoding analysis on the RV/ Tioga during August 2008 (1 day). [CMarZ contact: Ann Bucklin and Paola Batta Lona]

VII.

S. Atlantic Ocean

  N and S Atlantic Ocean. A north-to-south latitudinal transect throughout the Atlantic Ocean from Bremerhaven, Germany to Cape Town, S. Africa. Twenty-seven researchers, students and others from around the world joined together to collect and study zooplankton on the Polarstern ANT-XXIV/1. The ice breaker was transitting from Bremerhaven, Germany to Cape Town, South Africa on route to the Antarctic. Net collections were conducted from the surface to over 5000m depth to find rare and unknown species. Taxonomic experts and geneticists worked together to identify and barcode the DNA from hundreds of species of zooplankton. View images of some of the animals they found. Nov. 2007[CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schiel]

  A west-to-east transect will be sampled along 51°S from the R/V Polarstern. In a project led by Holger Auel (University of Bremen, Germany), zooplankton were collected using a Multinet from 0 - 2000 m, with samples preserved in formaldehyde and ethanol during April-June 2006. [CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schiel]

  SE Atlantic. Three 'proof-of-concept' CPR (Continuous Plankton Recorder) tows were made in the Benguela Current Large Marine Ecosystem (BCLME) during October/November 2005 using the MV Tugela. Tows stretched 1,422 nm from Cape Frio, Namibia (18°S, 11°'E) to near East London, South Africa (33°S, 27°E). CPR samples were collected in the Angola-Benguela Frontal Zone, Benguela Current (Atlantic Ocean), and Agulhas Current (Indian Ocean). This extension of the proposed Atlantic Eastern Margin Transect (AEMT) and will serve as a precursor for a new CPR survey in the region.   October/November 2005. [CMarZ contact: Hans Veyheye and Chris Reid]

  Atlantic Meridional Transect cruise #16 (AMT-16), from Cape Town, South Africa to Falmouth, UK (May 15 - June 25, 2005) [CMarZ contact: Colomban de Vargas]

  Pelagic fisheries recruitment survey and fisheries spawning biomass surveys (November 2005), off west and south coasts of South Africa. (May - June 2005) [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye, Dept. of Environmental Affairs & Tourism, South Africa]

  African Coelacanth Ecology Programme (ACEP) off the east coast of South Africa (April 2005). [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye, Dept. of Environmental Affairs &Tourism, South Africa]

  SE. Atlantic Ocean: Seasonal Oceanography and Fisheries in the Benguela Current Region as part of the ongoing BENEFIT monitoring program, with monthly zooplankton sampling off southern Angola, central Namibia and the west coast of South Africa. (ongoing) [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye]

  SE. Atlantic Ocean: Alexander von Humboldt – Angola-Benguela (AHAB) Research and Training Expedition off SW Africa, with sampling of the Angola-Benguela Front (January-February 2004), and off central Namibia. (April 2004) [CMarZ contact: Hans Verheye]

 SE Atlantic. R/V Maria S. Merian Collection of zooplankton samples in the Benguela Upwelling region using a variety of net systems (Bongo, WP-2, Multinet, MOCNESS, Ring trawl, etc.) and mesh sizes (ranging between 120 and 1000 µm) in the upper 800m at various sites during several of the 4 legs of a Pela-Gimber cruise, between Las Palmas (ca. 28ºN, Canary Islands) and Walvis Bay (ca. 23ºS off Namibia) and Mindelo (ca. 16ºN, Cape Verde Islands). On transects from the coast to beyond the shelf break the 10-m2 and 1-m2 MOCNESS as well as a Multinet were employed down to near the sea floor or at oceanic stations down to 1000 m. The samples were preserved in formalin and partly in alcohol for later taxonomic and molecular genetic studies. Chf. Sci. Werner Ekau, ZMT during 11 February - 15 April 2008. [CMarZ contact: Sigrid Schiel, Hans Verheye and Holger Auel]