In 2017, researchers at the Cape Eleuthera Institute, along with the Center for Sustainable Development, designed and deployed sub-surface fish aggregation devices (FADs) in deep water that are now the basis for much of the pelagic fish ecology research at the institute. FADs are incredibly effective tools for increasing the catches of pelagic fish in the world's oceans, but they don't come without cost. FAD-associated fisheries result in high rates of bycatch and may change the ecology of pelagic organisms from tiny planktonic larvae to highly migratory predators.
In February of 2019, OceanX helped to push this research further with use of their submersibles and their research vessel, The Alucia.