The 'benthic team' will process the samples from the sea floor (as opposed to the ‘pelagic team’, who will sample what swims in the water column). One of the main tools that will be used at every site is the beam trawl, which skims just across the surface and will pick up organisms just above the sea floor. In order to reduce the impact on the ocean floor, all the gear will be deployed for only a few minutes (~15-20 mins). The mesh size is at the end is 1 cm, so that larger organisms can also be caught. Credit: NIWA
