Why Don't We Eat the Ocean's Most Abundant Creature?

Every night, the largest migration on Earth happens beneath the ocean. Trillions of tiny glowing fish rise from the dark, then vanish by sunrise. They are some of the most numerous animals that have ever lived, yet they never end up on your plate. Why? 🔬 Key points and researchers in this video: During WWII, around 1942, Navy sonar operators found a mysterious "phantom bottom." In 1945, Martin Johnson of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography argued that this "deep scattering layer" was made of living creatures rising each night to feed. A team led by Xabier Irigoien published findings in Nature Communications showing that mesopelagic fish biomass is about ten times higher than the 1,000 million tonnes previously estimated. Bristlemouths of the genus Cyclothone are currently regarded as the most abundant vertebrates on Earth. Keriorrhea is oily, orange-colored stool caused by eating indigestible wax esters. The EU-funded MEESO project studies the biomass and ecosystem role of mesopelagic resources and the possibility of fishing them. WHOI scientist Ken Buesseler explains that switching off this biological carbon pump would more than double the CO2 humans have added to the atmosphere. Little mesopelagic fish have big carbon capture impact +3 📚 Sources: Irigoien et al. 2014, Nature Communications (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4271): https://www.natureasia.com/en/nmiddle... Discover Magazine, the twilight zone's false bottom: https://www.discovermagazine.com/plan... WHOI, the mysterious false bottom: https://twilightzone.whoi.edu/the-mys... UC San Diego Library, Martin W. Johnson papers: https://library.ucsd.edu/speccoll/fin... WHOI, bristlemouth facts: https://www.whoi.edu/ocean-learning-h... Popular Science, 10 times more fish: https://www.popsci.com/article/there-... Medical News Today, keriorrhea: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/arti... EU CORDIS, MEESO project: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/8... WHOI, the twilight zone's carbon pump: https://www.whoi.edu/news-insights/co... WHOI, climate and the twilight zone: https://twilightzone.whoi.edu/explore... ⚠️ Disclaimer: This video is for educational and entertainment purposes only. Animations are illustrative and not to scale. Scientific estimates (fish numbers, biomass, carbon storage) vary between studies and may change with new research. Nothing in this video is medical or dietary advice. Consult a qualified professional for health concerns. #DeepSea #OceanTwilightZone #Lanternfish #OceanMysteries #ScienceExplained