Cuba's Mesophotic Coral Reefs is a collaboration between Cuban and USA scientists' research on the deep mesophotic coral reefs and fish communities of Cuba. This collaboration resulted in an expedition on May 14 to June 13, 2017. This cruise was set out to map and characterize the extent and health of mesophytic core ecosystems (MCEs) along the entire coastline of Cuba. Over the on-month cruise we transited approximately 2,778 km (approx. 1,500 mmi). Forty-three Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) dives at 36 different stations confirmed the presence of MCE habitat on all coasts of Cuba. ROV dives surveyed reefs from depths of 188 m to 18 m, covering 27 km, totaled 99 hours of bottom time and 110 hours of high-definition video. For more information, visit www.cioert.org.
