Introduction to ASOC’s new and novel Southern Ocean Citizen Submersible Initiative (SOCSI)

ASOC launched a Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem (VME) identification and monitoring program, Southern Ocean Citizen Submersible Initiative (SOCSI), in 2023. This initiative partners with Antarctic tour operators already deploying crewed submersibles to document benthic biodiversity and to identify vulnerable ecosystems in need of protection. Two VMEs have been identified based on relative percent abundance in its first two seasons of operation. Inherent in SOCSI is the advantage that sites can be monitored in the long term for the detrimental effects of a rapidly warming Southern Ocean. This is the first annual report of SOCSI to CCAMLR.