Collections and Submarine Observations of Deep Benthic Fishes and Decapod Crustacea in Hawaii1

Depths between 150 and 400 m off Oahu, Hawaii, were surveyed by submarine, gill nets, and traps. Depth of capture or observations and other data are given for 47 species of fishes and 20 species of decapod Crustacea. Of these species, 10 fishes and five crustaceans are either undescribed or new records for Hawaii. Four other fishes collected and several others observed from the submarine are probably undescribed or unrecorded species. A large proportion of both the total number of species collected and of the new forms were taken by gill net. The gill nets are able to sample steep, rocky bottoms and obtain types of organisms inaccessible to other types of gear, particularly bottom trawls. THE DEEP WATER BENTHIC FAUNA of the Hawaiian Islands is known mainly from results of deep bottom trawling by the Albatross near the turn of the century (Gilbert, 1905) and from a few subsequent trawling-dredging collections. Such collections have undoubtedly missed some forms and, as Gosline (1965) has noted, data on depth distribution are inadequate. Brock and Chamberlain (1968) and Strasburg, Jones, and Iverson (1969) have reported on submersible observations down to about 200 m. These data have extended depth ranges and provided interesting observations on many organisms, but, because of the depth limits of the submersible, have included few deep-water species. The only other sources of deep-water specimens have been fishermen who have collected occasional individuals by handline, and volcanic eruptions during which specimens have floated to the surface following lava flows into deep water (Gosline, Moore, and Yamaguchi, 1954). This paper presents results of a survey during which a submersible and several types of fishing gear were utilized. The efforts were concen1 Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology Contribution no. 368. This work was supported by State of Hawaii Fisheries Funds to the University of Hawaii and by Sea Grant GH-62 and GH-93. Manuscript received 6 December 1971. 2 University of Hawaii: Department of Oceanography Honolulu, Hawii 96822, and Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, P. O. Box 1067, Kaneohe, Oahu, Hawaii. trated on steep, rocky bottoms between 150 and 400 m depths. The investigation was restricted to fishes and decapod Crustacea. The results provide records of several species new to Hawaii, depth ranges of these and many others, information on the habits of some species, and a basis for comparing the effectiveness of different survey methods.