for the OSPAR the System for a Showcase Example Showcase a of Marine Protected Marine of briefing The Røst Reef - Reef Røst The y en o mliem echosounding. multibeam of means by Although the continental break off Røst was known by known was Røst off break continental the Although Description Site future. the the for to Reef Røst the contribute protecting of importance all factors These intact. largely dense and large particularly shown have Reef the Røst of observations Video bottom-trawling. a of as result impacted or damaged are waters Norwegian in merits all of % scientists 50 and 30 between that estimate Norwegian that status. heritage MPA natural through global protection a as Reef Røst ( water cold known largest world‘s the is Reef Røst The Selection for Reasons Potential E 8°55,4’ N 67°22,3’ D: E 9°02,7’ N 67°19,4’ C: E 9°38,2’ N 67°33,0’ B: E 9°31,1’ N 67°35,5’ A: found is coordinates: following the within reef The (EEZ). Zone Economic Exclusive larger than the Sula Reef). The reef lies within ‘s km 100 approximately of area an covers It map). (see wide is km 2-3 and long km 40 reef approximately The Norway. Northern Archipelago, the in Røst the of west located is Reef Røst The Location E-mail: [email protected] E-mail: 65846-12 421 +49 Fax: · 65846-22 Tel:421 +49 · Bremen D-28757 · 11 Gütpohl Am North-East Programme WWF Atlantic Lutter Stephan contact: information, For Lophelia pertusa Lophelia Areas eald a o te ef a produced was reef the of map detailed A oois ad h re apas o be to appears reef the and colonies, fishermen to house corals, the discovery the corals, house to fishermen ) reef. As such, WWF recognises the recognises WWF such, As reef. ) odce i Otbr 2002. October in conducted f cniuu re o this of reef continuous a of The Røst Reef - A Potential MPA Potential - Reef A Røst The eod uvy f h re was reef the of survey second ie ae s bg surprise. big a as came size between 300 and 400 m. A m. 400 and 300 between h re ws discovered was reef The adld, t depths at landslide, uig ruie survey routine a during h eg o quarternary of edge the 13-26 May 2002, where 2002, May 13-26 grows above and under and above grows a new methodology for methodology new a was employed. The reef oa re detection reef coral Lophelia 2 (10 times (10 reefs the break edge. edge. break the Dense inspections. video by covered sections represent 2 image in lines Black terrain. landslide the of details shows 2 Image area. reef the of length entire the shows 1 Image Røst. off break continental the of images Echosound 2: Fig. u t sx ie hge dniis a cmae t the ( ling of Catches to seabed. surrounding compared as densities) higher times six to (up hn usd, lhuh hs dfeecs ee not were significant. differences statistically these although outside, than tusk ( ( redfish of density higher at significantly Research a shown Marine have Norway, of Storegga, Institute the by performed pce hv be rgsee i NrhEs Atlantic North-East Lophelia in registered been have species 750 than More seas. deep the of hotspots biodiversity same the play other as role ecological to expected is reef the but Reef, Røst So far, no ecological studies have been performed on the Features Biological red on the inserted map. inserted the on red in indicated is Norway) (Northern Lofoten Archipelago the in Island Røst the of west Reef Røst the of location The 1: Fig. Brosme brosme reefs. © Institute of Marine Research, , Norway.Bergen, Research, Marine of Institute Sebastes marinus Sebastes Lophelia ) were also higher in Lophelia pertusa Lophelia Lophelia colonies grow on the ridges below ridges the on grow colonies ef ae nw as known are reefs ) in ) Molva molva Molva Lophelia Lophelia reefs. Studies reefs. ) and ) areas areas Human Impacts fisheries with equipment that may touch the bottom. Only a very small portion of the Røst Reef has been inspected by video. The observations indicate that the reef While this is certainly a wise and valuable step towards the is largely intact. However, a significant number of protection of this unique natural feature, the reef is still entangled lines and nets were observed on the reef during unprotected from the potential impacts of petroleum video inspection (Fosså, pers.comm.). activities. WWF therefore proposes the establishment of a no-go zone for petroleum activities in the Røst area. This According to information from the Norwegian Directorate zone should encompass the reef, the important seabird of Fisheries, net and line are the most common fishing colonies at Røst Island and their feeding ground as well as equipment used on and around the Røst Reef. Trawling the important fish spawning grounds between Røst Island activities take place both in the northern and southern parts and the reef. of the coral area, and to a lesser extent east of the coral area. The Norwegian Nature Conservation Act does not apply beyond territorial waters. It is not possible, therefore, to protect the Røst Reef as a nature reserve. This is a weakness that should be improved in the ongoing process of developing a new Norwegian biodiversity act.

Action to be taken Norway may want to nominate the Røst Reef as a potential OSPAR MPA. Even though OSPAR has not decided on implementation mechanisms for MPAs yet, this will signal the importance of the Røst Reef for regional nature conservation with the intention to ultimately include it in a Fig. 3: Røst Reef - Impression of the reef environment. Various network of marine protected areas in the North-East species of corals form substantial thickets. © Institute for Marine Atlantic. Research, Bergen, Norway Text prepared by Andreas Tveteraas

A potential threat towards the Røst Reef is future oil and gas References/Further Reading development in the vicinity of the reef. The Røst Reef lies Fosså, J.H., Mortensen, P.B. & Furevik, D.M. (2000): Lophelia - korallrev langs Norskekysten - forekomst og tilstand. within the so-called " VI” petroleum block, which Fisken og Havet (2)2000. Havforskningsinstituttet. is regarded as a promising field by oil and gas companies. Bergen. ICES (2002): Distribution of cold-water corals in the Northeast No licences were granted in this block during the Atlantic in relation to fisheries. ACE Report. Chapter 3. latest licensing round as the Norwegian Ministry of International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. Oil and Energy felt a need for more information Copenhagen WWF (1999): Sula Ridge - A Potential Marine Protected Area. before allowing further petroleum activities in this sensitive Briefing. WWF North-East Atlantic Programme. area, including possible measures to protect Bremen. WWF (2002): Coral reefs in the North Atlantic. WWF coral reefs (letter to WWF-Norway, 10 May 2002). International website, Gland.. http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_we_work/eur In general, little is known about the impacts of oil and gas ope/where/ne_atlantic/corals.cfm exploration on Lophelia colonies. Infrastructure development may lead to physical destruction of reefs and stress due to increased sedimentation. Discharges related to drilling and production (drilling muds and produced water) contain substances known to affect other marine organisms negatively. Until the long-term impacts of these discharges on Lophelia have been determined, no such discharges should be allowed near the Røst Reef.

Existing/Proposed Protection To protect the Røst Reef from damaging fisheries activities, a proposal to amend the 1999 Coral Regulation is being considered by the Norwegian Ministry Fig. 4: Røst Reef - Bushes of coral provide ample niches for of Fisheries. With this amendment, the Røst Reef and a invertebrate and vertebrate associated fauna. © Institute for 5 km buffer zone on all sides will be protected from all Marine Research, Bergen, Norway