There are over 100 bottom living fish species between 500 and 4,000 m west of the British Isles. Each species has a discrete depth range and in some species it can be very large. For example, the most exploited deep-water species west of Scotland is the roundnose grenadier, Coryphaenoides rupestris. It is mostly exploited between depths of 700 and 1000 m but its total depth range extends from about 600 to 1800 m. The most abundant demersal species west of the British Isles is the cut-throat eel, Synaphobranchus kaupi, which has a depth range from 400 to 2,450 m. We finally also question the justification for the three potential sites.
Seamounts are where some of the targeted fisheries for species such as orange roughy occur.
It is also an area which has been the subject of investigation by SAMS for many years. The Maury Channel site is the deepest of the three, but still close to developing deep-water fisheries in international waters. Slope sites have different characteristics and should be treated differently. Clearly such processes now need to be taken into consideration in modelling the dispersal of toxic compounds in deep water. The claim under 5.2.5.