Note from the Executive Secretary |
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Dr David Freestone
Executive Secretary
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The Sargasso Sea Commission celebrated the 10th anniversary of the Hamilton Declaration this March. It is heart-warming to see how far the work programme of the Commission has developed in the decade since its inception - with the unwavering support of our Signatory governments, expert Commissioners, and with the consistent championship of the Government of Bermuda.
The Commission was originally conceived as a vehicle to explore whether existing instruments were sufficient to achieve the conservation of ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction. Since that time, we have arrived at a finalised BBNJ agreement for the conservation and sustainable use of the high seas, and the Commission is being heralded as a flagship initiative for its implementation. From bridging the science-policy gap, to legal scholarship, to stakeholder engagement, the Sargasso Sea Commission is codifying the lessons it has learned since its inception to inform the conservation of other high seas areas under the BBNJ agreement.
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Sargasso Sea Commission Celebrates 10th Anniversary of the Hamilton Declaration |
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The Sargasso Sea Commission celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea with a series of technical meetings from March 11-12 in Bermuda.
Representatives of the Governments that have signed the Hamilton Declaration and the Sargasso Sea Commissioners gathered at Cambridge Beaches - ten years after the initial signing, to celebrate this momentous occasion.
“The Sargasso Sea is vitally important for Bermuda and globally recognized for the ecosystem services it provides. It is a developmental habitat for many species of pelagic fish and sea turtles, and a migratory corridor for whales, dolphins, sharks and rays. It also upholds climate resilience by acting as a significant carbon sink,” said the Hon. Walter Roban, JP, MP, Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs. “The Government of Bermuda is honoured to be a part of this global effort to conserve our precious oceans.”
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During the 28th regular meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), held from 13-20 November 2023, an MOU for collaboration between the Secretariats of ICCAT and SSC was agreed. This MOU was signed by Camille Manel, Executive Secretary of ICCAT, and David Freestone, Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission, in March 2024.
The MOU lays out a framework for collaboration on knowledge exchange for the ecosystem approach to fisheries management in ICCAT, and on developing data sharing approaches for fisheries, habitats, and related species in the Sargasso Sea.
Image credit: ICCAT
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Stakeholder meeting with shipping community a success |
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On March 5th, 2024, NLA International and BIMCO co-hosted a stakeholder engagement workshop for members of the shipping community at BIMCO offices in London. This meeting was attended by representatives from IMO, IMO's GloFouling partnership, Intertanko, CLIA, UNEP-WCMC, the Sustainable Shipping Initiative, IMarEST, and the UK Chamber of Shipping, with several other stakeholders supporting the initiative but unable to attend.
The aim of this event was to introduce the Global Environment Facility UNDP-IOC Sargasso Sea Project, a child project of the Common Oceans Programme, to the International Shipping Community and, as key users of the Sargasso Sea, discuss Project intent whilst highlighting potential opportunities for mutually beneficial participation.
Image credit - Fae Sapsford
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Creature Feature
Your window into the golden floating rainforest and who's in it!
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Flying fish are named for their ability to glide over the surface of the water to avoid predators. The record for time in the air for a flying fish is 45 seconds. Typical flights are about 50m in distance, but the fish can use updrafts to travel up to 400m across the surface of the ocean!
They also live up to their name in another way: they build bubble 'nests' in sargassum and lay their eggs within it. Sticky filaments on the eggs help keep them secured to the sargassum fronds, and many hundreds of eggs can be laid at once.
Flying fish eggs act as food for many other animals connected to Sargassum - from Sargassum endemics like the Columbus crab and the Sargassum Swimming Crab, to sargassum associated fish such as filefish and juvenile dolphinfish.
Juvenile flying fish were referred to by William Beebe as "many coloured butterflying fish" due to their brilliant colouring - which the fish lose as they develop.
Image: Flying fish eggs by Dylan Simpson, juvenile flying fish by Fae Sapsford, adult flying fish by Wikimedia Commons
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With this positive vote in Plenary, the EU has completed a key step in the process of approving ratification of the High Seas Treaty. The Parliament’s decision will be formally adopted by the Council, after which the EU will be ready to deposit its “instrument of ratification” at the United Nations (UN).
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The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada says five people from Maine were arrested in southwestern Nova Scotia last weekend for illegally fishing for baby eels.
In a news release, the department says the arrests occurred April 20 and in the early hours of April 21 in the Meteghan area of Digby County.
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The Sargasso Sea Commission's work to conserve the Sargasso Sea has been heralded as a flagship implementation site for the BBNJ agreement
The Sargasso Sea Commission celebrated the 10th Anniversary of the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea on March 11, 2024.
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Thank you for supporting our mission to protect the Sargasso Sea. We truly appreciate all of the donations and support that we have received over the years -- without which the Sargasso Sea Commission would not exist. |
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