NSIKAN AKPAN:

Of the earth's oceans, only 5 percent have been explored. That means we know more about the moon than the water that covers 70 percent of the Earth.

Nekton wants to fill the knowledge gap by making a baseline measurement of ocean health. That's because our are facing threats, including the spread of invasive species like the lionfish.

Chris Flook is a collector of marine specimens for the Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo. And he was one of the first to notice the region's lionfish invasion 16 years ago.

CHRIS FLOOK, Bermuda Aquarium Museum and Zoo: But then very quickly, I started to notes that, over time, we were losing small fish from these areas where I traditionally went and found lots of small juvenile fish. And lionfish were becoming more and more common.

So, by about 2007, we actually started a culling program in Bermuda to tackle these invasive species.