mesopelagic
adjective
me·so·pe·lag·ic
ˌme-zə-pə-ˈla-jik 
ˌmē-,
-sə-
: of or relating to oceanic depths from about 600 feet to 3000 feet (200 to 1000 meters)
Examples of mesopelagic in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The data revealed that megamouth sharks exhibit a pattern of normal diel vertical migration, spending most of their daylight hours in the mesopelagic zone, which lies between 656 - 3280 ft (200 - 1,000 m) deep.
—
Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
Beyond a certain depth, specifically below about 200 meters (656 feet), the ocean enters the mesopelagic zone and extends into the abyssal and hadal zones, reaching depths of over 11,000 meters (36,000 feet).
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Still, as was the case with the defunct mesopelagic fisheries of the USSR, much of the interest is in using mesopelagic fish as food for other animals, like Atlantic salmon.
—WIRED, 9 Dec. 2023
Norway has run a trial fishery for mesopelagic fish since 2016, and Iceland also experimented with a mesopelagic fishery, particularly in 2009 and 2010.
—WIRED, 9 Dec. 2023
Sathish, whose research focuses on coastal pollution, had earlier studied and reported the presence of microplastics in clams (Donax cuneatus), mesopelagic fish and beach sediments across coastal areas in Tamil Nadu.
—Sharmila Vaidyanathan, Quartz, 10 Apr. 2023
In 1980, fisheries scientists estimated the global biomass of mesopelagic fish at a billion metric tons, based on surveys with nets.
—Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2022
In the decades since Johnson’s initial hypothesis, new technologies have made the mesopelagic zone slightly more accessible to scientists.
—Jack Feerick, Discover Magazine, 28 July 2021
Economy of arm autotomy in the mesopelagic squid Octopoteuthis deletron.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2012
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Melissa Cristina Marquez, Forbes, 31 Oct. 2024
Beyond a certain depth, specifically below about 200 meters (656 feet), the ocean enters the mesopelagic zone and extends into the abyssal and hadal zones, reaching depths of over 11,000 meters (36,000 feet).
—Scott Travers, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2024
Still, as was the case with the defunct mesopelagic fisheries of the USSR, much of the interest is in using mesopelagic fish as food for other animals, like Atlantic salmon.
—WIRED, 9 Dec. 2023
Norway has run a trial fishery for mesopelagic fish since 2016, and Iceland also experimented with a mesopelagic fishery, particularly in 2009 and 2010.
—WIRED, 9 Dec. 2023
Sathish, whose research focuses on coastal pollution, had earlier studied and reported the presence of microplastics in clams (Donax cuneatus), mesopelagic fish and beach sediments across coastal areas in Tamil Nadu.
—Sharmila Vaidyanathan, Quartz, 10 Apr. 2023
In 1980, fisheries scientists estimated the global biomass of mesopelagic fish at a billion metric tons, based on surveys with nets.
—Stephanie Pain, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2022
In the decades since Johnson’s initial hypothesis, new technologies have made the mesopelagic zone slightly more accessible to scientists.
—Jack Feerick, Discover Magazine, 28 July 2021
Economy of arm autotomy in the mesopelagic squid Octopoteuthis deletron.
—Ed Yong, Discover Magazine, 1 Aug. 2012
Cite this Entry
“Mesopelagic.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mesopelagic. Accessed 18 Jul. 2025.
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