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The Sargasso Commission: Saving the Atlantic Golden Rainforest www.sargassoseacommission.org THE COMMISSION: SAVING THE ATLANTIC GOLDEN RAINFOREST

The Sargasso Sea contains a unique based upon floating seaweed. It is a marine treasure that is threatened by pollution and other human activities. The Sargasso Sea Commission, an international team of researchers and policy makers, is working to preserve and protect this wonder of the .

The Golden Rainforest of the Ocean to very specialised communities of animals. The two species that make In the North , surrounded up the rafts are the only large seaweeds by clockwise rotating currents, lies a that spend their entire life floating in refuge of calm, sapphire blue water the ocean, reproducing solely by renowned for its exceptional clarity and growing new rafts from fragments that unique biodiversity. The Sargasso Sea break off larger mats. With its long is an unusual gem in the open ocean, evolutionary history, these mats of where golden forests of seaweed crown have become home to very deep blue waters that are often crystal specialised communities of animals, clear to unusual depths. Covering including 11 endemic species that approximately two million square miles are found nowhere else in the . surrounding the of Many species have become adapted and part of the infamous Bermuda to living amongst the weed, including Triangle, it has no land boundaries the Sargassum angler fish, which is but is enclosed by four major ocean camouflaged but also has modified fins currents – the Gulf , the North to grasp the weed fronds. Atlantic Current, the and the North Equatorial and The Sargasso Sea and neighbouring Gulf Current – the whole system forming the of are the primary areas where subtropical . rafts of Sargassum are found. Recently, however, large quantities of the weed Home to countless legends of have become stranded on the beaches wrecked and mysterious events, in the and West . This along with unique communities of Sargassum originates in the ocean to marine life, the Sargasso Sea is an the south of the Sargasso Sea, where irreplaceable natural wonder. Despite the weed is believed to have bloomed its intrigue, these waters and their rapidly due to increased temperatures inhabitants are threatened by pollution, and fertilisers released from the and many are working to save this and Amazon . The resulting amazing ecosystem. blooms are carried into the Caribbean by ocean currents. Two species of Sargassum weed float on the surface of the ocean, forming Beyond the creatures that live clumps and rafts. Dubbed the ‘golden exclusively in the seaweed rafts, many rainforest of the Atlantic Ocean’, these species of endangered sea turtles hide CREDIT: JP Rouja rafts of Sargassum weed are home in the Sargassum rafts during their

WWW.SCIENTIA.GLOBAL CREDIT: Andrew Stevenson

formative years to escape predators, from the shores of the is partly In 2011, the Sargasso Sea Alliance – a eat, and grow big enough to brave sustained by the transport of fish larvae collaboration led by the Government the open ocean as adults. The larvae and adults that raft within the floating of Bermuda – began laying the of several fish species are often seaweed. The Sea is an integral part of groundwork for international found associated with Sargassum the island chain’s , as collaboration that could provide and numbers of fish species use the well as an important component of its stewardship for the area. Three years Sargasso Sea as a breeding ground economy and the economies of other later, the Hamilton Declaration and and migratory route, including sharks, bordering nations. Sargasso Sea Commission were borne tuna and billfish. The deep water of the However, the Sargasso Sea is currently out of those efforts, in the process Sargasso Sea, below the Sargassum threatened by change and developing a conceptual framework mats, is the only known spawning more directly by pollution and other for how could be ground for the endangered American human activities including . collaboratively managed. and European eels. Any pollutants that get into the central Sargasso Sea are trapped there by the In 2014, the Hamilton Declaration on As well as serving as a habitat for a encircling currents, and the area is now Collaboration for the Conservation multitude of species, the Sargasso Sea’s home to the North Atlantic Garbage of the Sargasso Sea was signed, golden rainforest is highly important Patch – an accumulation of mostly recognising the ecological, economic, to the residents of Bermuda for many degraded covering an area larger and research value of these waters. reasons. The golden Sargassum than the state of Texas, which is held in The Declaration was initially signed seaweed is carried inshore during place by the gyre. by five governments – Bermuda, the the winter months, where it acts as , Monaco, the , an important food source for reef fish Protecting a Natural Treasure and the . The British Virgin when it sinks to the below. In Islands, , and addition to providing nutrients to corals Among the greatest challenges facing joined in 2016, followed by the Cayman and other benthic organisms, it also this area are legal ones – the ocean Islands in 2017. Other governments are provides food and habitat for intertidal belongs to no country. Over 50% of considering signing also. organisms, which in turn are the prey of the planet’s surface is covered by many shorebirds. marine waters that fall outside of the The Declaration establishes stewardship governance of nations. These so- over the Sargasso Sea and aims to In addition to feeding the Bermuda called ‘High ’ require extended encourage and facilitate research into food chain, the decomposing washed international cooperation and the wildlife and effects of pollution on up Sargassum helps fortify the beaches, collaboration, since they fall outside of the blue waters. The Declaration led preventing erosion, and is used as any country’s legal jurisdiction. to the appointment of the Sargasso fertiliser by island farmers. Fishing Sea Commission by the Government

WWW.SCIENTIA.GLOBAL ways that the Sea can be preserved through conservation efforts.

The Sargasso Sea Commission is also working to develop a Stewardship Plan for the Sargasso Sea – which would be the first such plan for an open high seas area. This would include parameters that could regulate different types of human activities that disrupt the golden seaweed rafts CREDIT: JP Rouja and pose a threat to the life around of Bermuda. The Commission is a Sargasso Sea in its area and them. Limitations would require the group of ‘distinguished scientists and gear restrictions on midwater trawling. cooperation of multiple countries and other persons of international repute private sector corporations through committed to the conservation of high In 2014, the Commission brought international bodies such as the seas ’, and in particular, together cable companies, marine International Maritime Organization this natural wonder. Commissioners researchers, academics, and legal (IMO) and the Regional Fisheries are appointed by the Government of scholars to discuss the environmental Management Organizations. Bermuda after a consultation process effects of laying submarine fibre involving the signatory governments. optic telecommunications cables A Bright Future for Blue Waters across the ocean floor, which provide ‘The role of the Commission members over 97% of worldwide international The innovative work of the Sargasso … is to exercise a stewardship role communications. Sea Commission is currently mainly for the Sargasso Sea and keep its funded through the support of private health, productivity and resilience The Sargasso Sea Commission is donors – it is seeking further funding under continual review,’ says Dr David also working with more traditional to continue its important work into Freestone, Executive Secretary of the conservation groups to protect specific the future. The Commission aims to Sargasso Sea Commission. Rather wildlife, such as the endangered continue working to protect the Sea as than being associated with any one American and European eels, and a whole, while also working to protect country, the Commission operates as a collecting further data to support the migratory range of the European stand-alone entity, established under the need for extending protections eel, to regulate vessel activities, and to Bermudian law. to this incredible body of water. In conserve threatened fishery resources collaboration with the Convention on in the area. It is also working with NASA The Commission’s Work So Far Migratory Species, efforts are underway to develop comprehensive satellite to define and protect the migration imagery of the area. In only a few short years, the Sargasso routes of the to the Sea project has set a new paradigm Sargasso Sea as well as its spawning ‘We are working closely with NASA on for conservation of areas beyond areas there. its pilot COVERAGE project, which will national jurisdiction, bringing together provide a visual representation of its stakeholders from multiple countries The Commission has also collected satellite data on the Sargasso Sea,’ and organisations. In 2011 the Alliance data on how the Sargassum seaweed explains Dr Freestone. ‘This can be published a baseline study on the bolsters numerous species of fish that overlaid with other data on animal Protection and Management of the are commonly sought in commercial movements and human activities Sargasso Sea and the following year, fishing, as well as charismatic and in the area.’ This data could help the parties to the Convention on endangered sea turtles, all of which researchers identify the most critical Biological Diversity, drawing on this rely on the masses of golden seaweed areas for conservation efforts, and study, agreed that the Sargasso Sea be for shelter and nutrition. Utilising this better understand how human activity included on a list of Ecologically and data, the Commission aims to partner affects the Sea. With the Commission’s Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs). with countries and commercial fishing continued efforts, this beautiful natural Using the EBSA decision as a basis, operations to properly manage fishing treasure will endure for many future special conservation measures for the activities, and ensure that these generations to come. Sargasso Sea were agreed upon in 2015 populations will enjoy the Sargasso Sea by the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries as a safe haven for generations to come. Organisation (NAFO) that established Ongoing efforts to tie fish populations to a moratorium on bottom trawling on human activity are revealing even more

WWW.SCIENTIA.GLOBAL Meet the Commission

Commission as of April 2017: Wilfred Moore, Frederico Cardigos and Teresa Mackey are not pictured.

Dr David Freestone Professor Howard Roe A globally recognised specialist in international environmental Professor Howard Roe has over 50 years of marine science law and Law of the Sea, Dr David Freestone is the Executive experience, covering a very broad range of biological Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission. and ecological research in marine habitats, and he is the E: [email protected] former Director of the National Oceanographic Centre in Southampton, UK. Teresa Mackey E: [email protected] Teresa Mackey is a Marine Research Fellow with the Sargasso Sea Commission Secretariat. She is graduate of the College of Mark Spalding William & Mary in English and Marine Science. Mark Spalding is President of The Ocean Foundation, a E: [email protected] National Academies of Sciences Ocean Studies Board member, Senior Fellow at the Middlebury Center for the Blue Economy, Dr Tammy Warren CEO of SeaWeb, advisor to the Rockefeller Ocean Strategy (an With a comprehensive background in marine biology and unprecedented ocean-centric investment fund), and designer fisheries management, Dr Tammy Warren is the Senior Marine of the first-ever blue carbon offset program, SeaGrass Grow. Resources Officer for the Bermuda Government Department of E: [email protected] Environment and Natural Resources. E: [email protected] Senator Wilfred P. Moore, Q.C. Wilfred P. Moore served 20 years in the Senate of Canada and Dr Billy D. Causey has been an outspoken advocate for policies protecting the A specialist in marine sanctuary management and coral reef . He was a strong advocate of the Sargasso Sea Alliance, conservation, Dr Billy Causey is the Southeast Regional Director and was instrumental in persuading Canada to become the for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s eighth Signatory to the Hamilton Declaration on December 3, (NOAA) Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. 2016. E: [email protected] E: [email protected]

Professor Stephen de Mora Frederico Cardigos An expert in monitoring and assessment, with With a background in marine biology and conservation, a background in international project management, Dr Stephen Frederico Cardigos has gone on to a career in island marine de Mora serves as the Chief Executive of the Plymouth Marine , currently he serves the of the Azores as their Laboratory and PML Applications Ltd. representative in . He was regional director for the E: [email protected] environment and maritime affairs and director of the Marine Park of the Azores. E: [email protected].

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