Record-breaking deepest fish ever caught on camera

Scientists have smashed the record for the deepest fish ever caught on camera.

The fish - a type of snailfish - was filmed at a depth of 8,336m in the Izu-Ogasawara Trench, south of Japan, using a robotic 'lander' submarine.

The previous record - also a snailfish - was recorded at 8,178m (26,839ft) in the Pacific's Mariana Trench in 2017 - The new discovery beats that record by 158m.

The scientists captured several snailfish slightly higher up in the water in the nearby Japan Trench at a depth of 8,022m - setting another record for the deepest fish ever caught.

Deepest ever catch: Some snailfish were pulled up from 8,022m

There are more than 300 species of snailfish in the world, and most of them can be found swimming in shallow rivers.

However, some snailfish have adapted to live in the freezing cold waters of the Arctic and Antarctic, and in the extreme pressure conditions in the world's deepest underwater trenches.

At more than 8km down, the snailfish are experiencing more than 80 megapascals, or 800 times the amount of pressure at the ocean surface!

For reference, humans can only swim to around 3km before the pressure is too much for our bodies.

Landers used bait to draw fish into the view of cameras

So how are the fish able to live in such intense conditions?

Well, one reason is that their squishy, gelatinous bodies help them to survive the crushing pressure.

These snailfish also don't have a swim bladder - an organ found in most fish which controls their ability to float.

In terms of food, these fish are like little vacuum cleaners, who suck up scraps and tiny crabs on the ocean floor.

Prof Jamieson is a pro at working with deep-ocean landers

The two-month long scientific mission was set up by Professor Alan Jamieson and a team from the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology.

It is part of a bigger study, lasting around 10 years, looking at some of the deepest fish in the world.