Note from the Executive Secretary |
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Dr David Freestone
Executive Secretary
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Today marks the 8th anniversary of the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea. The Declaration now has ten governmental signatories, who collaborate to protect this unique high seas ecosystem.
The Commission has now started work on gathering information for the Ecosystem Diagnostic Analysis to be financed by our Global Environment Facility (GEF) project.
As Dr. Andrew Hudson, Head, Water & Ocean Governance Programme at UNDP, explains, “this analysis will provide an ongoing basis for monitoring and subsequent stewardship and management responses, and could provide useful detail for replicating the Commission’s ecosystem stewardship structure in other ecosystems in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction.”
We are looking forward to the fantastic work on the horizon for the Sargasso Sea Commission.
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EU invited to sign the Hamilton Declaration |
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In February, Professor Denis Bailly issued an invitation to the EU to become a signatory to the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea, and to the French President of the European Union to support the recognition of the Thermal Dome under the SARGADOM project.
This speech was given during the 2022 One Ocean Summit, taking place from February 9th-11th. The Summit took place in Brest, Brittany, aiming to mobilise the international community to take tangible action towards preserving and supporting a healthy and sustainable ocean.
The Summit is held in the context of the French Presidency of the Council of the European Union, with the support of the United Nations. The goal of the One Ocean Summit is to raise the collective level of ambition of the international community on marine issues and to translate our shared responsibility to the ocean into tangible commitments.
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Governance of High Seas Ecosystems: Big Data & AI Workshop |
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Big data and AI provide many opportunities for high seas governance - vast datasets can be compared and analyzed to reveal trends that can help inform balanced conservation measures in a cost-effective way. This aspect can be leveraged productively by small organizations such as the Sargasso Sea Commission, with limited resources to analyse data. However - one of the main challenges in using these technologies is sourcing datasets that can be used, and making sure they are in compatible formats.
With the support of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the Swedish Government Department of Environment, The Sargasso Sea Commission has contracted Nick Lambert Associates International to produce a report on the use of big data and AI in the governance of high seas ecosystems. Their report aims to articulate the potential opportunities in the utilization of big data and AI in providing future ocean governance, especially for small organizations like the Commission.
This workshop was held on March 2nd from 10-12 ET in order for associates from NLA International to present their conclusions and recommendations arising from the report.
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Mission Blue Relaunch of Sargasso Sea Hope Spot |
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The Sargasso Sea was first named a Mission Blue Hope Spot in 2011, and the Sargasso Sea Commission is now recognized as its Champion.
This year, on the anniversary of the Hamilton Declaration, Mission Blue sought to re-launch the Sargasso Sea Hope Spot with new images and updated information - highlighting this iconic high seas system, and the cutting edge work the Commission will undertake as part of the FFEM and GEF projects.
Image: David Doubilet under Sargassum, by Jennifer Hayes
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Creature Feature
Your window into the golden floating rainforest and who's in it!
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Lanternfish are a deep sea species that normally live in the ocean twilight zone, 200-1000 metres down, though they complete vertical migrations each night, following the zooplankton to the surface upon which they feed.
Lanternfish have bioluminescent photophores at the bottom of their bodies, which allow them to glow in the murky depths. The light may be used for communication and courtship as well as camouflage - lanternfish use counterillumination to match their photophores to the extremely dim light still visible in the twilight zone, to make them invisible to predators looking up at them from below.
Lanternfish are a very important part of the Sargasso Sea ecosystem, representing a link between the deep sea and the surface. They may be the most numerous fish on the planet - when sonar was first being developed, operators discovered what seemed to be the sea floor 300-500 metres down, which actually rose at night! In actuality, what the sonar was picking up was a vast and dense layer of lanternfish, known as the deep scattering layer.
Lanternfish are a very important food source for many pelagic animals found on the Sargasso Sea, including many species of pelagic fish, cetaceans, and the cahow, a pelagic bird endemic to Bermuda. Lanternfish also play a major role in the biological pump - due to their movements between the surface and the deep, they move huge amounts of carbon from shallower ocean layers to be sequestered in the deep sea.
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
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Anguillid eels featured on CBS News
The Sargasso Sea was recently featured on CBS news as the mysterious spawning site for two species of anguillid eel - while we know they spawn there, spawning has never been observed.
"Eels have a slippery reputation, transforming themselves in saltwater and freshwater environments – and no one knows exactly how they reproduce in the wild. Correspondent Conor Knighton talks with experts who share their fascination with the unknowable mysteries of the eel."
Bermudian naturalist Chris Flook, who was involved in a National Geographic photography expedition for the Sargasso Sea, was featured by CBS in their video about the mysterious life cycle of anguillid eels.
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JP Rouja featured in Audubon Magazine
The photography of long time Sargasso Sea Commission ambassador J-P Rouja has recently appeared in Audubon Magazine. This year, the magazine featured the continued conservation work on the Bermuda cahow, one of the rarest birds in the world, as its cover story. JP has been heavily involved in documenting the cahow conservation work over the past years, including the installation of the 'cahow cam' - livestreams within cahow burrows that allow anyone to view the activities of mating and nesting cahows.
Cahows spend most of their time on the open ocean - feeding on small fish, squid, and shrimp. They range between Bermuda, Nova Scotia, North Carolina, and the Azores - passing over the Sargasso Sea.
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Report: The State of Bermuda's Waters
The report was published by the Waitt Institute, and was completed through the combined effort of several Bermudian industry experts along with support from the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme (BOPP).
The report looks at the physical status, economic context, and social influences on Bermuda's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Specifically, the report outlines the status, uses, threats, and governance of the EEZ's marine environment and underwater cultural resources. This information can help identify priorities for the island's future development and use of environmental resources and practices.
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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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