These impacts may persist for many years to decades ( Ramirez-Llodra et al., 2011 Cordes et al., 2016). Impacts on the water column are also likely from the input of sewage water, cooling water, processed cuttings etc.

These include but are not limited to the physical disturbance of the seabed during drilling and associated activities, addition of chemical toxicants and sedimentation from drilling muds, and light and noise pollution ( Cordes et al., 2016). Potential impacts on seabed communities can result from activities in the oil and gas exploration phase, but are most likely to occur during the production phase. Historically, the energy sector has focused on terrestrial and shallow coastal waters ( Rajnauth and Boodoo, 2013), but with the improvements in deepwater technology, increasing global demands for energy, and dwindling reserves elsewhere in Trinidad and Tobago, deepwater (>1,000 m) exploration for oil and natural gas is currently underway in several lease blocks, with exploitation to begin in late 2017 (Figure 1). Trinidad and Tobago, the most southerly complex of islands in the Caribbean chain, is the largest oil and natural gas producer in the Caribbean region ( Ministry of Energy and Energy Industries, 2017). Recommendations for the stewardship of these widespread habitats include: (1) seeking international cooperation (2) holding wider stakeholder discussions (3) adopting stringent environmental regulations and (4) increasing deep-sea research to gather crucial baseline data in order to conduct appropriate marine spatial planning with the creation of marine protected areas. Potential impacts on benthic communities during oil and gas activities will likely be long lasting and include physical disturbance during drilling among others. Because methane seepage and chemosynthetic communities are related to the presence of extractable oil and gas resources, development of best practices for the conservation of biodiversity in Trinidad and Tobago waters within the context of energy extraction is critical. This paper highlights these ecologically significant areas and increases the knowledge of the biodiversity of the Trinidad and Tobago deep ocean. Finally there was either a zone of sparse octocorals and other non-chemosynthetic species likely benefiting from the carbonate substratum and enriched production within the seep habitat, or sedimented inactive areas. Beyond this were large Bathymodiolus shell middens. Adjacent to areas of active seepage was an ecotone of suspension feeders including Haplosclerida sponges, stylasterids and Neovermilia serpulids on authigenic carbonates.

These communities were dominated by megafaunal invertebrates including mussels ( Bathymodiolus childressi), shrimp ( Alvinocaris cf. Eighty-three megafaunal morphospecies from extensive chemosynthetic communities surrounding active methane seepage were observed at four sites. In 2014, the E/V Nautilus, in collaboration with local scientists, visited two previously sampled as well as two unexplored areas of the El Pilar site between 998 and 1,629 m depth using remotely operated vehicles. That exploration led to the discovery of the El Pilar methane seeps and associated chemosynthetic communities on the accretionary prism to the east of Trinidad and Tobago. The only scientific team to image the deep seafloor within the Trinidad and Tobago Exclusive Economic Zone was from IFREMER in the 1980s. Despite increasing oil and natural gas exploration and exploitation, the deep ocean of Trinidad and Tobago is almost entirely unknown. 6Ocean Exploration Trust, Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Narragansett, RI, United StatesĮxploration of the deep ocean (>200 m) is taking on added importance as human development encroaches.5Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.4Integrative Oceanography Division, Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, CA, United States.3Division of Marine Science and Conservation, Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University, Beaufort, NC, United States.2Department of Life Sciences, University of the West Indies, St.1Life Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom.

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