Note from the Executive Secretary

Dr David Freestone Executive Secretary

Happy Holidays from the Sargasso Sea Commission! This has been a very active year for us - we have now received all three detailed scientific reports from our implementing partners, which will feed into a socio-ecosystem diagnostic analysis (SEDA) for the Sargasso Sea. The Commission has attended various international events focused on the conservation of the high seas this year - including a workshop on area based management tools in the high seas at IUCN headquarters in Gland, a large marine ecosystem meeting at IOC UNESCO in Paris, and a workshop on particularly sensitive sea areas (PSSAs) in the high seas in Costa Rica. The Secretariat has also hosted project meetings in Edinburgh, alongside attendance at the high seas symposium. The Secretariat remains engaged in the conservation of the Sargasso Sea - especially aided by significant financing from the Global Environment Facility and French Facility for Global Environment. Next year we look forward to conducting a gaps analysis for information on the Sargasso Sea ecosystem and to exploring conservation measures that could be included in a strategic action programme for the region.

Sargasso Sea Commission co-hosts a workshop on Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) on the high seas in Costa Rica

The Sargasso Sea Commission co-hosted a workshop on Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSAs) on the high seas from November 13-15 in San José, Costa Rica together with the International Maritime Organization (IMO), World Maritime University (WMU), and MarViva. IMO has a mandate to designate PSSAs - although so far none have been on the high seas beyond 200nm. PSSA designation is a tool to reduce the impacts of international shipping on an area that is deemed to have cultural, ecological, or scientific importance. The workshops explored the criteria for PSSA designation, the procedures for making applications for such designations and recent practice in such designations and their Associated Protection Measures (APMS). The workshop ended with working groups looking at the possible applicability to the Sargasso Sea and the Thermal Dome. Image credit: World Maritime University

MOU signed with NAFO

In December, the Executive Secretaries of the the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NAFO) and the Sargasso Sea Commission signed a memorandum of understanding aimed at closer collaboration between the two organizations, particularly in relation to data collection and data sharing. A similar process is well underway with the Secretariat of the International Commission on the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

GEF project Steering Committee and stakeholder meetings held in Edinburgh

On October 4th and 5th in Edinburgh, UK, the Sargasso Sea Commission held its first Steering Committee Meeting and Stakeholder Engagement Meeting for its GEF-UNDP-IOC-SSC project. The meetings focused on project progress, management and monitoring, including updates on communications, and was an outstanding opportunity for project partners to come together in person and discuss topics relevant to the project. The meetings were held in coordination with the High Seas Symposium, an event focused on the implementation of the high seas treaty, which the SSC co-sponsored. The Executive Secretary spoke on a panel focusing on lessons learned from existing high seas initiatives. Image credit - University of Edinburgh

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Creature Feature Your window into the golden floating rainforest and who's in it!

Oceanic Manta Ray

Oceanic manta rays are the largest rays in the world, reaching a weight of almost 3000 pounds and a wingspan of 29 feet. They are ocean wanderers, sifting seawater through their gill rakers in order feed on zooplankton. Recent research has shown that these rays may make significant deep sea dives in order to feed. Manta rays appear to be highly intelligent - they can recognise themselves in a mirror, create mental maps of their surroundings, and have one of the largest brain to body ratios among fish. Manta rays are slow growing and have low fecundity, making them vulnerable to population decline. They are targeted for their gill rakers which are used in Chinese medicine, and are also vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear. Image: Ocean Image Bank - Hannes Klosterman

Sargasso On-the-Go

Study Clearly Identifies Nutrients as a Driver of the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt The Sargasso Sea and the Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt constitute different populations of Sargassum - this article found that nitrogen and phosphorous levels were higher in the GASB than the Sargasso Sea - indicating the more southern blooms are nutrient driven.

Bermuda Government includes SSC in "The Bermuda Difference" Protecting the Sargasso Sea and the work of the Sargasso Sea Commission where highlighted as one of the climate change initiatives supported by the Bermuda Government in a white paper released at COP28.

IUCN releases high seas treaty policy brief Designed for heads and professionals of government, civil society, and business, this excellent guide outlines the issues and process of the BBNJ agreement.

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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