Paul Clerkin
@paulclerkin.bsky.social
Hi everyone! I study lesser known sharks in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Let’s talk sharks!
We had another successful and beautiful BRUVs deployment. I did 8 hours straight without realizing it. The scenes are amazing and the pilot chairs in the ROV room are very cozy :) I don’t mind doing deepsea exploration in my sweat pants.
December 1, 2025 at 6:05 PM
We had another successful and beautiful BRUVs deployment. I did 8 hours straight without realizing it. The scenes are amazing and the pilot chairs in the ROV room are very cozy :) I don’t mind doing deepsea exploration in my sweat pants.
This is a Loose Jaw. For a long time researchers thought the membrane on the bottom of its jaw was damaged in specimens but it turns out they don’t have a membrane there so they can snap the jaws faster. Nature is wild. This group is so fascinating and let’s face it, terrifying.
November 30, 2025 at 5:25 PM
This is a Loose Jaw. For a long time researchers thought the membrane on the bottom of its jaw was damaged in specimens but it turns out they don’t have a membrane there so they can snap the jaws faster. Nature is wild. This group is so fascinating and let’s face it, terrifying.
In 2013 I did an Alien Shark documentary for Shark Week with Captain Phil where we discovered new unknown species on the show (a shark week first)! Phil is so knowledgeable that he is a consultant on the FAO/UN research expedition I am on now. It is great to see him.
November 29, 2025 at 2:48 PM
In 2013 I did an Alien Shark documentary for Shark Week with Captain Phil where we discovered new unknown species on the show (a shark week first)! Phil is so knowledgeable that he is a consultant on the FAO/UN research expedition I am on now. It is great to see him.
Look at this beautiful ROV! I’ve decided I want one.
November 27, 2025 at 5:04 PM
Look at this beautiful ROV! I’ve decided I want one.
There is a story from FAO/UN about the expedition I am on. We are testing the digital key we have been working on and studying deepwater sharks using taxonomy, genetics, eDNA, and underwater video. I am having a WONDERFUL time 🤩
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
November 26, 2025 at 4:51 PM
There is a story from FAO/UN about the expedition I am on. We are testing the digital key we have been working on and studying deepwater sharks using taxonomy, genetics, eDNA, and underwater video. I am having a WONDERFUL time 🤩
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
There is a story from FAO/UN about the expedition I am on. We are testing the digital key we have been working on and studying deepwater sharks using taxonomy, genetics, eDNA, and underwater video. I am having a WONDERFUL time 🤩
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
November 26, 2025 at 4:50 PM
There is a story from FAO/UN about the expedition I am on. We are testing the digital key we have been working on and studying deepwater sharks using taxonomy, genetics, eDNA, and underwater video. I am having a WONDERFUL time 🤩
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
www.fao.org/in-action/co...
I love when I get to deploy my deepwater cameras! Sorry for the low quality images (pictures of the live feed screen). I hope I can share some of the actual videos soon! These are the first images/videos ever taken in this area 🤩 (about 1000 m deep).
November 25, 2025 at 4:57 PM
I love when I get to deploy my deepwater cameras! Sorry for the low quality images (pictures of the live feed screen). I hope I can share some of the actual videos soon! These are the first images/videos ever taken in this area 🤩 (about 1000 m deep).
Prepping gear for deployment tomorrow. It is very exciting but we’re doing a lot of last minute problem solving. This trip has definitely adhered to Murphy’s Law.
November 23, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Prepping gear for deployment tomorrow. It is very exciting but we’re doing a lot of last minute problem solving. This trip has definitely adhered to Murphy’s Law.
For some reason I love setting up eDNA labs at sea. I need to do a good job since these samples will be a big part of my research for the next 18 months.
November 23, 2025 at 2:53 AM
For some reason I love setting up eDNA labs at sea. I need to do a good job since these samples will be a big part of my research for the next 18 months.
Goodbye Mozambique! Deepsea exploration here we come!
November 21, 2025 at 2:44 AM
Goodbye Mozambique! Deepsea exploration here we come!
I went on a short a short stroll and came across all these fruit bats in a park in Maputo. I was so fascinated by these as a kid. Does anyone else think fruit bats are super cool?
November 20, 2025 at 5:21 PM
I went on a short a short stroll and came across all these fruit bats in a park in Maputo. I was so fascinated by these as a kid. Does anyone else think fruit bats are super cool?
Ran into paintings of the man himself on my way to explore the deepsea of the Indian Ocean. #theexplorersclub #EAFNansen
November 20, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Ran into paintings of the man himself on my way to explore the deepsea of the Indian Ocean. #theexplorersclub #EAFNansen
First time in Mozambique (Maputo). I wish we had more time here.
November 20, 2025 at 8:15 AM
First time in Mozambique (Maputo). I wish we had more time here.
I was in NYC a few weeks ago getting medially certified to work at sea as co-team leader on the Research Vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. I popped into the Explorers Club headquarters to hangout until my flight home and guess whose picture I found? #FridtjofNansen #theexplorersclub
November 17, 2025 at 4:30 PM
I was in NYC a few weeks ago getting medially certified to work at sea as co-team leader on the Research Vessel Dr. Fridtjof Nansen. I popped into the Explorers Club headquarters to hangout until my flight home and guess whose picture I found? #FridtjofNansen #theexplorersclub
After all these years of sticking with GoPro I think maybe I am switching to Insta360(?). Do any of you have experience with these? I'm kind of jumping in with both feet.
November 15, 2025 at 2:42 PM
After all these years of sticking with GoPro I think maybe I am switching to Insta360(?). Do any of you have experience with these? I'm kind of jumping in with both feet.
Let's face it, most of my friends on here are weird. I bet you know what this is (without reading the description). I knew immediately .
November 15, 2025 at 10:00 AM
Let's face it, most of my friends on here are weird. I bet you know what this is (without reading the description). I knew immediately .
I always want to travel light, but that is super hard when you need anchors...
November 14, 2025 at 10:00 AM
I always want to travel light, but that is super hard when you need anchors...
Check out this AMAZING video of a Goblin Shark filmed in the Tonga Trench at 2000 meters (6500 ft)!
Video captured by @inkfishexpeditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiq0...
Video captured by @inkfishexpeditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiq0...
A glimpse of the Goblin Shark - 𝘔𝘪𝘵𝘴𝘶𝘬𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘢 𝘰𝘸𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘪
Recently spotted during a lander deployment to 2000 meters in the Tonga Trench, this rare species of #deepsea #shark is often described as a "living fossil". The Goblin shark is one of the few…
www.youtube.com
August 19, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Check out this AMAZING video of a Goblin Shark filmed in the Tonga Trench at 2000 meters (6500 ft)!
Video captured by @inkfishexpeditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiq0...
Video captured by @inkfishexpeditions
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eiq0...
This is what you get in the Explorers Club Annual Dinner swag bag. Pretty nice and it comes in an awesome backpack :)
August 5, 2025 at 9:01 AM
This is what you get in the Explorers Club Annual Dinner swag bag. Pretty nice and it comes in an awesome backpack :)
Bumped into Sylvia Earle. She is always so down to earth. Everyone loved the shirt @cottoncrustacean !
August 4, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Bumped into Sylvia Earle. She is always so down to earth. Everyone loved the shirt @cottoncrustacean !
I was at the Explorers Club Headquarters in NYC and I bumped into one of my favorite underwater robots :) Plus this piece of the first lunar rover.
August 4, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I was at the Explorers Club Headquarters in NYC and I bumped into one of my favorite underwater robots :) Plus this piece of the first lunar rover.
I was at the Explorers Club a few months ago and what did I see in the Research Collections? Roy Chapman Andrews' whip! Roy Chapman Andrews was an explorer who carried a whip and was the real life Indiana Jones. Steven Spielberg visited the club twice which led to him developing Indiana Jones.
August 3, 2025 at 1:42 PM
I was at the Explorers Club a few months ago and what did I see in the Research Collections? Roy Chapman Andrews' whip! Roy Chapman Andrews was an explorer who carried a whip and was the real life Indiana Jones. Steven Spielberg visited the club twice which led to him developing Indiana Jones.
I had a fantastic time at the Explorers Club annual dinner after my NGEN talk. I met so many wonderful, interesting, and kind people. I can't wait to go again next year.
(To everyone who asked about my pin, it's made by @circadiancrunuch and she has a bunch of awesome stuff)
(To everyone who asked about my pin, it's made by @circadiancrunuch and she has a bunch of awesome stuff)
August 3, 2025 at 9:00 AM
I had a fantastic time at the Explorers Club annual dinner after my NGEN talk. I met so many wonderful, interesting, and kind people. I can't wait to go again next year.
(To everyone who asked about my pin, it's made by @circadiancrunuch and she has a bunch of awesome stuff)
(To everyone who asked about my pin, it's made by @circadiancrunuch and she has a bunch of awesome stuff)
Excited to have been able to contribute to this publication on the discovery of a NEW SPECIES of manta ray! Officially named Mobula yarae. The specific epithet, yarae, is in reverence to “Yara”, mother of the waters, from ancient Tupi and Guaraní mythology."
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
An integrative taxonomy investigation unravels a cryptic species of Mobula Rafinesque, 1810 (Mobulidae, Myliobatiformes), from the Atlantic Ocean - Environmental Biology of Fishes
Manta and devil rays comprise a vulnerable animal group with a complex nomenclatural history and a somewhat unresolved taxonomy. The existence of a putative undescribed species of manta ray in the…
link.springer.com
July 30, 2025 at 9:00 AM
Excited to have been able to contribute to this publication on the discovery of a NEW SPECIES of manta ray! Officially named Mobula yarae. The specific epithet, yarae, is in reverence to “Yara”, mother of the waters, from ancient Tupi and Guaraní mythology."
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Just in case you wondered what it's like in FAO headquarters I snuck around and took some pictures just for you. Its a beautiful building.
July 26, 2025 at 1:42 PM
Just in case you wondered what it's like in FAO headquarters I snuck around and took some pictures just for you. Its a beautiful building.