New England Seamounts

Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems Database

Geographical reference Northwest Atlantic

Management Body/Authority Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO)

Area Type Seamount closure (NAFO)

Closed since 2007-01-01 until 2020-12-31

Habitat and Biology

General Biology Seamounts are uniquely complex habitats that rise into bathyal and epi-pelagic depths. In general seamounts, owing to their isolation, tend to support endemic populations and unique faunal assemblages. Scientific studies indicate that seamounts’ summits and upper slopes can provide refugia for cold-water stony corals from ocean acidification as they lie in shallower waters with a higher aragonite saturation horizon. Coral and other hard- bottom VME indicators have been documented on these seamounts.

Physical description of the environment: Seamounts Consists of 17 peaks (SCR 7/61). The New England Seamounts are a 1200-km-long chain of about 30 volcanic peaks in the North Atlantic extending from Georges Bank within the US EEZ, to the eastern end of the Bermuda Rise. The New England seamounts are in the New England – Corner Rise Seamount system. This hotspot, referred to as the “New England hotspot”, is more than 3000-km-long. A pause in volcanism 83 million years ago is responsible for the present day spatial gap between these two seamount chains. Named seamounts within the New England Seamount chain include: Allegheny Seamount, Asterias Seamount, Balanus Seamount, Bear Seamount, Buell Seamount, Gerda Seamount, Gilliss Seamount, Gosnold Seamount, Gregg Seamount, Hodgson Seamount, Kelvin Seamount, Kiwi Seamount, Manning Seamount, Michael Seamount, Mytilus Seamount, Nashville Seamount, Panulirus Seamount, Picket Seamount, Physalia Seamount, Rehoboth Seamount, Retriever Seamount, San Pablo Seamount, Sheldrake Seamount, Vogel Seamount. At the 2017 NAFO Annual Meeting, the Commission adopted a revision of the New England Seammounts closure to include peaks within the seamount chain that were shallower that 2000m (COM Doc. 17-16).

Impacts

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department Map

Disclaimer The boundaries and names shown and the designations used on this map do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of FAO concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities, or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers and boundaries. Dashed lines on maps represent approximate border lines for which there may not yet be full agreement.

Management

Measures specific to this area

Until 31 December 2020, no vessel shall engage in bottom fishing activities in any of the areas illustrated in Figure 3 and defined by connecting the following coordinates specified in Table 5 in numerical order and back to coordinate 1 (Article 17.1).

Period in force: 2007-01-01 to 2020-12-31, review in: 2020 Source of information NAFO Conservation and Enforcement Measures 2018 (COM Doc. 18-01, Serial No. N6767, 179 pp.) https://www.nafo.int/Portals/0/PDFs/COM/2018/CEM-2018-web.pdf?ver=2017-12-21-133002-477 2018

Management Body/Authority Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) The Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization's (NAFO) overall objective is to contribute through consultation and cooperation to the optimum utilization, rational management and conservation of the fishery resources of its area of competence, and to ensure the long term conservation and sustainable use of the fishery resources and, in so doing, to safeguard the marine ecosystems in which these resources are found.

Web site http://www.nafo.int/ Regional Fishery Body fact sheet FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department http://www.fao.org/fishery/rfb/NAFO/en

FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department