We investigated the fish and scavenger community after a deep seafloor disturbance experiment intended to simulate the effects of deep-sea mining. Fish density returned to background levels after several years; however the dominant fish was rarely found in ploughed habitat after 26 years. Given the significantly larger scale of industrial mining, these results could translate to population-level effects. The abyssal fish community at the site was similar to that in the Clarion–Clipperton Zone.