The expedition has not been with out its setbacks - notably the loss of our experimental deep water drop camera - and the weather could have been kinder, but we knew from the start that this kind of work was never going to be easy. As Gavin is fond of pointing out, if it was easy there would be loads more images from the deep sea and we'd know lots more about it, and it's not unusual in this line of work for bits of kit to get damaged or lost.

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the trip has been joining forces with the team from the University of Azores (Filipe, Fernando, Andreia and Frederico) and with Russell from IFAW. They've brought with them good humour as well as scientific expertise. We have learned so much from them all, and the pictures and film that we've gathered are already being analysed. It all adds to the overall understanding about the ecology of these waters. For the scientists, finding areas where there are no corals is just as important as finding areas with corals, as it helps them to understand why species develop in one area and not another. Yesterday Frederico got excited when we found a lizard fish at 160 metres with drop camera mark III, much deeper than it is usually found.

You only have to look at the images we took of the corals at Condor Bank to get a sense of their fragility and understand why they need protection from deep sea bottom trawlers. Governments must act but will only do so if enough people call on them to do so - this means the message has to come from lots of different quarters, from Greenpeace, from the public, (I trust all you Ocean Defenders have taken part in the cyberaction), and from the scientific community too. It has been a pleasure to work with a group of scientists who see protection of the marine environment as fundamental to their mission. And lastly whilst I'm here, I would also like to say a huge thank you to the captain and crew of the Esperanza who always work way beyond the call of duty - and to wish everyone on the next leg good weather and a successful mission.

- Richard