During our first ROV dive at Melville bank this morning, there was a suspenseful moment or two when the robot tried to capture a very cunning 20cm-long lobster.
After some unsuccessful trials, we managed to get it into the collecting net but as we were trying to put the net into the bio box, it jumped out of the net and landed on the ROV.
Then we tried our best to have it fall into the box by creating some currents with the thrusters in its direction.
And … it worked. It was in the box!
All we had to do was to put the net with the sediments on the lobster and close the box.
But things are not so straightforward at 900m depth. And our very brave lobster, gathering its strength, jumped and swam out of the 30cm deep box!
We will never know what species it was! For now it will remain a mystery of the deep ...