A characterization of the sponge community in the region of Grays Canyon, WA from a survey using an autonomous underwater vehicle, October 2010 Report to NOAA Deep-sea Coral Research and Technology Program

"The goals of this project are to: 1) Examine the extent of the sponge reef identified in 2007 and proposed for protection by Oceana in 2009; 2) Describe the associated ecosystem to assist in determining this area's role as EFH; and 3) Provide the PFMC with additional information to assess any actions that may be needed to protect the Grays Canyon sponge area. Targeted habitats for this work were soft bottom and moderately rocky habitat offshore of Grays Harbor, WA. The primary survey site was centered at the glass sponge site already identified by Paul Johnson (Johnson 2008, 2009). The SeaBed AUV, Lucille, was used to conduct photographic surveys of macro-fauna, including invertebrates and bottom fish in order to determine the species composition and density of sponges and associated fish fauna"--Page 2.