An improved deepwater optical fiber cable with abrasion protection and techniques for manufacturing the same are provided. For example, the abrasion protected deepwater cable may be a modification or enhancement of an existing special application (SPA) optical fiber cable. One or more additional layers of metallic tape and jackets may be added to the outermost layer of the SPA cable. The tape and jacket layers may have different thicknesses and may be made from different materials to optimize protection against man-made objects or otherwise naturally occurring materials in deep water environments, such as fish aggregation devices (FADs).