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Fabien Cousteau, grandson of famed underwater explorer Jacques Cousteau, has lived undersea for 31 days, breaking his grandfather's record by one day. He emerged from the turquoise waters off the Florida Keys after a record-breaking underwater stay with a team of scientists and documentary film-makers. 

Fabien Cousteau, 46, along with two other 'aquanauts' took the 18-meter dive to Aquarius - a laboratory submerged near a coral reef off Key Largo on June 1. 

"This expedition's main goal was to reach as many people around the world ... to impassion future generations to care about the oceans, to cherish them, to be curious about them in a way that existed during my grandfather's era," Cousteau told a news conference after surfacing, according to Times of Malta.

During Fabien's mission, a team of researchers from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Northeastern University rotated through the laboratory studying the impact of changing seas on underwater life.

The trip, though considered successful, was also full of challenges. 

"One night the air conditioning stopped working and it got to 35˚C and 95 per cent humidity," said Andrew Shantz, a PhD candidate in marine eco-science at Florida International University, who spent 17 days in the lab in the beginning of June.

"We saw a Goliath grouper attack a big barracuda, which is something I never imagined happening," Shantz said.

Shantz added that he was able to collect six months worth of data in 17 days.