HSA Member Activities

The Coral Reefs of the High Seas Coalition is a multidisciplinary alliance of partners that aims to generate the science, strategic communication, and support that is necessary to conserve coral reefs in areas beyond national jurisdiction. To date, the coalition has mostly focused its efforts on high seas surrounding the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges, two seamount chains that stretch across over 2,900 km in the Southeastern Pacific. Isolated by the Humboldt Current and the Atacama Trench, this region is home to one of the most unique collections of biodiversity on Earth. For many groups of organisms, nearly half of the species are endemic to the region and found nowhere else on our planet. Not only is this region a biodiversity hotspot, it is also culturally significant as Polynesian and others have recognized its importance for centuries.

Last year the coalition published several scientific studies that highlight the natural and cultural significance of the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges, including:

• A comprehensive review of the scientific rationale and policy recommendations for protecting the ridges, which summarizes information from close to 250 studies that have been conducted in this region, as well as over 10 years of fishing and vessel traffic data.
• A review of the maritime heritage and cultural significance of the Salas y Gómez & Nazca ridges, which  synthesizes information on the 1,000-year old human history of seafaring across the ridges, as well as provides practical recommendations on how this information should be integrated into the design and eventual management of a protected area.

• A review of various global datasets on biodiversity and human use, which shows that the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges are one of the most promising places to protect on the high seas globally.
• Deep-water surveys conducted on both ends of these ridges, which recorded over 120 species, many of which are extremely fragile or not known to exist anywhere else on Earth.
• Deep-water surveys of seamount communities of the Nazca Ridge, which recorded 118 benthic organisms and showed that these environments are still relatively pristine.
• Habitat suitability models for deep-water corals and sponges, which show that these habitat-forming species are widespread across the Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges.
• Surveys of back coral gardens found on the Salas y Gómez Ridge, which included some of the densest aggregations ever reported for these types of corals, and were shown to provide critical habitat for a wide variety of fishes and invertebrates.
• Descriptions of the complete mitochondrial genomes of two black corals from the Salas y Gómez Ridge, which have potential implications for future biomedical research.

Collectively, these scientific assessments underscore the importance of protecting the high seas surrounding the Salas y Gomez & Nazca ridges, which represent the largest and most threatened portion of the ridges. This could be achieved by:

• closing this region to industrial fishing activities regulated by the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission;
• closing the region to seabed mining activities regulated by the International Seabed Authority; and
• establishing a high seas marine protected area once the United Nations Agreement on Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction is finalized and comes into force.

For more information visit www.coralreefshighseas.org.

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Penguins’ warnings about climate change

In early January, Greenpeace’s ship the Arctic Sunrise set sail to Antarctica. On board were a team of scientists from Stony Brook University, who joined to conduct groundbreaking research on remote penguin colonies, many of which have never before been surveyed, in order to assess the impacts of a rapidly changing Antarctic on this important species.

Within a few days, the scientists  discovered new penguin colonies not previously known to science.

The Arctic Sunrise travelled on to the Weddell Sea, where the scientists found that vast colonies of Adélie penguins have remained stable in the last decade, providing vital new evidence that these areas remain a climate refuge for Adélie penguins, a sentinel species.

The findings add more weight to the theory that the Weddell Sea may provide an important shelter for wildlife from the worst impacts of the climate crisis. The Weddell Sea is the site of a vast proposed Marine Protected Area (MPA), first proposed nearly a decade ago by the Antarctic Ocean Commission (CCAMLR), and has not yet been delivered.

A window to Antarctica – giant portal appears in London

On January 24th, a giant portal (4m tall and weighing almost 4 tonnes) appeared in Trafalgar Square, London, broadcasting live from remote penguin colonies in the Antarctic Peninsula and bringing the remote and fragile Antarctic straight into the heart of a bustling city over 8,000 miles away.

Almost 5 million people around the world are calling for a strong High Seas Treaty

In February, giant ocean creatures, hourglasses and direct communications popped up around the world. Almost 5 million people globally are asking their governments to take ambitious action to agree to a High Seas Treaty. Eleven Greenpeace offices around the world (and counting) delivered this petition[PRK1]  to their governments, stepping up the pressure as the UN negotiations taking place in New-York from 7-18 March.

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To inform UN negotiations for a new International Legally-Binding Instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement) under UNCLOS, IUCN and DOSI, with support by the Swedish government, have been co-hosting a series of knowledge-building webinars on relevant themes. This effort is aimed at fostering momentum during the extended intersessional period of the negotiations, imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic. The overview and video recordings are available below. 

Continue reading Building Ambition for a new High Seas Treaty – IUCN Webinars

Turkish Marine Research Foundation (TUDAV) met the representatives of major BBNJ institutions in Ankara, on March 23, 2021. The meeting was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and attended by representatives from the Ministry of Urbanization and Environment and the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry.

Continue reading Turkish Marine Foundation form BBNJ task force with Turkish Government

In April 2021, the Coral Reefs of the High Seas Coalition launched its website. Coral reefs are widely regarded as one of the top conservation priorities globally, as these ecosystems harbor extraordinary biodiversity, provide many human benefits, and are highly vulnerable to impacts. While most of our knowledge of these critical ecosystems is derived from studies on nearshore reefs, coral reefs have also recently been documented on the high seas in many locations around the globe.

Continue reading Coral Reefs on the High Seas Coalition launches website

An important piece of evidence came to light with this new study that reveals that albatross and large petrels, spend circa 40% of their time in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The study combined over ten thousand movement tracks from 5,775 birds to estimate the relative year-round importance of national jurisdictions and high seas areas for 39 species of albatross and large petrels.

The results show that the high seas constitute the most important at-sea area for these birds globally, and in every ocean basin, indicating that effective management of international waters is of common, global interest. The study also reveals that all species regularly cross into the waters of other countries, meaning that no single nation can adequately ensure their conservation. 

Continue reading Study finds high seas constitute critical at-sea area for albatross