Scientists exploring a deep-sea mountain off Canada’s Pacific coast found warm fluid venting from a volcano long presumed extinct—and its summit covered with an estimated 100,000 to one million egg cases from the Pacific white skate (Bathyraja spinosissima). The figure is an estimate, not a completed census.
What was found on the Canadian seamount?
A Northeast Pacific expedition surveyed an ancient underwater mountain whose summit lies nearly 1.5 kilometres (about 1 mile) below the ocean surface. The seamount rises about 1,100 metres (3,600 feet) above the surrounding seafloor, according to Live Science’s 2023 report.
Researchers detected warm, mineral-rich fluid escaping from the summit. That evidence showed the volcano is still geologically active, despite having been presumed extinct. Deep-sea corals covered parts of the summit, and thousands of rectangular egg cases carpeted the volcanic terrain.
The publicly available accounts do not establish one definitive name and coordinate set for the exact egg-covered seamount, so it is more accurate to describe it as an unnamed or not-specifically-identified Canadian Pacific seamount than to assign a location label that has not been documented.
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What animal laid the giant eggs?
The egg cases belong to the Pacific white skate, Bathyraja spinosissima, a deep-water relative of sharks and rays. Each case is roughly 0.5 metres (1.5 feet) across and has the tough, rectangular form commonly called a “mermaid’s purse.”
Expedition researchers recorded what they described as the first footage of a female Pacific white skate laying eggs. That observation links the animals seen around the summit directly to the nursery rather than relying only on the appearance of abandoned egg cases.
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Are there really a million skate eggs?
Possibly—but “one million” is an upper estimate, not a counted total. Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s expedition description called the site “covered in a million giant skate eggs.” Principal investigator Cherisse Du Preez gave a wider estimate, saying the summit might hold “100,000? A million?” egg cases.
Those figures describe the apparent scale of the egg-covered summit. A precise population census was not reported, so the responsible wording is “estimated at roughly 100,000 to one million” or “up to one million.”
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Warmth in an otherwise cold habitat
Deep-sea water is cold, and Pacific white skate embryos can take about four years to develop in those conditions. Volcanic fluid raises temperatures around the summit while carrying dissolved minerals, creating a localized environment unlike the surrounding seafloor.
Du Preez said, “The warm water likely speeds up the gestation period of the eggs, resulting in more successful juveniles.” The statement is a scientific interpretation of the nursery’s conditions, not a measured survival-rate result from the expedition.
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A hard, elevated surface
The summit’s volcanic rock and coral growth provide surfaces on which egg cases can rest. Its elevation may also keep the developing embryos above the deepest seafloor and in the influence of the warm fluid. The available reports identify the setting as a likely sheltered nursery, but they do not establish exactly how much shelter the terrain provides or quantify losses to predators and currents.
A life cycle that eventually moves deeper
Young skates develop inside the cases and hatch after the prolonged incubation period. The coral-covered summit may serve as a temporary nursery before juveniles descend into deeper water; the expedition reports did not specify the exact age or depth at which that move occurs.
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How does the Canadian nursery compare with the Galápagos site?
A Pacific white skate nursery near hydrothermal vents in the Galápagos provided the closest published comparison in the reports. It also demonstrated the association between volcanic warmth and skate egg development, but the documented egg abundance was vastly smaller.
| Feature | Canadian Pacific seamount | Galápagos nursery |
|---|---|---|
| Egg abundance | Estimated roughly 100,000 to one million egg cases; not a precise census | About a dozen or two eggs in the previously documented nursery |
| Thermal setting | Warm, mineral-rich fluid venting from an active seamount summit | Hydrothermal vents associated with warmer water |
| Depth | Summit nearly 1.5 kilometres (about 1 mile) below the surface | Not stated in the cited reports |
| Coral habitat | Deep-sea corals reported on the summit | Not stated in the cited reports |
| Protection status in the 2023 account | Not protected at the time of the report, according to the available account | Not stated in the cited reports |
Why this discovery matters for conservation
A nursery of this scale concentrates a vulnerable life stage in one small area. Egg cases remain attached to the seafloor for years, so disturbance to the summit could affect multiple generations at once. Fishing gear that contacts the bottom is an obvious potential hazard to egg cases, corals and the volcanic habitat.
The site was reported as unprotected when the 2023 discovery was described. That is a historical statement, not confirmation of its legal status in 2026; marine-protection designations can change. Researchers’ georeferenced records of egg concentrations and active vents can help agencies evaluate closures, habitat protections or other deep-sea conservation measures.
Protecting the nursery would preserve more than a skate spawning ground. The warm summit, corals and associated animals form a connected deep-sea ecosystem whose value was not apparent when the mountain was assumed to be extinct.
Quick Recap
What remains unknown?
- The exact public name and coordinates of the egg-covered seamount were not established in the available reports.
- The total number of egg cases remains an estimate rather than a complete count.
- Researchers have not reported a measured temperature profile showing exactly how much warmer the summit is than nearby water.
- The reports do not provide a confirmed hatching rate, juvenile survival rate or precise incubation time at this particular site.
- The current legal protection status requires verification from Fisheries and Oceans Canada or the relevant Canadian marine-management authority.
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