Bjørn Florø-Larsen is famous for many record catches in the Trondheim-fjord, like a 162 kg atlantic halibut or a 17.26 kg cusk, which also happens to be the world record. Bjørn doesn't only target large fish. He is a specimen angler who has caught a total of 122 different species of fish in Norwegian water.
Bjørn invited Blueye out on a fishing trip, with a specific goal of trying to film with underwater drones and observe the blackbelly rosefish. This species normally live between 150 and 600 m depth, but can occasionally be found shallower. He had a spot where he regularly catches them at about 120 to 140 m, a perfect depth to explore using the Blueye Pioneer underwater drone.
The blackbelly rosefish is a typical sit-and-wait predator. It will stand on its pectoral fins, waiting patiently for prey to swim by. The fish does not have a swimming bladder, so when it stops swimming it will sink back to the bottom. The lack of swimming bladder also makes it possible to release the fish if you want to prefer to do catch and release fishing, as it will not get injured by expanding gas on the way to the surface.
When we got out to the fishing spot we launched the underwater drone and headed down to about 140 m depth. After searching for about 10 minutes we found what we were looking for; a blackbelly rosefish! We were able to observe the fish, and Bjørn was truly excited about being able to observe and learn about the fish and its environment and behavior.
We piloted the drone back up to the surface before Bjørn released his bait to make an attempt to catch a specimen. It didn't take long before the fish took the bait!
Want to read more stories like this? See all of our voyages with our underwater drone here.
