The cruise also provided valuable information in the context of Good Environmental Status (GES), Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and provide new insights on how to sustainably manage deep-sea ecosystems. Six new hopper dives were performed during the 64PE488 Terceira 2021 cruise. Four dives were performed on the southern Terceira island depression, covering a depth range between 1300 and 1900 m. The remaining two dives were performed in the Serreta Ridge, WNW of Terceira, between 780 and 1100 m depth. Overall, we collected 6 h of new video footage.

The continuation of the long-lasting collaboration with scientists from the Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ). This was the fourth time deep-sea scientists from IMAR Instituto do Mar and Okeanos University of the Azores joined Fleur Visser cruises. The RV Pelagia cruise 64PE488 aimed to continue exploring the deep-sea areas of the Azores EEZ, namely in the southern Terceira island slopes and deep ridges, to (i) characterize benthic communities inhabiting seamounts in the Azores, such as São Jorge de Fora seamount, (ii) identify new areas that fit the FAO Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem criteria; and (iii) to contribute with additional data to address patterns and drivers of the distribution of deep-sea benthic biodiversity in the Azores region.