12/18/2020
gobi.org
Check out pages 12-13 of the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative newsletter for an article by the Sargasso Sea Commission and MarViva!
http://gobi.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/GOBI_newsletter_Dec20_lowres_spreads.pdf
Sargasso Sea Commission
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The Sargasso Sea is named for the Sargassum seaweed that creates its unique ecosystem. The Sea has been called a golden floating rainforest. It is a haven of biodiversity and there is growing recognition of the crucial role it plays in the wider North Atlantic ecosystem as habitat, foraging and spawning grounds and as a migratory corridor.
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Endangered European and American eels migrate to the Sargasso to breed. Wahoo, tuna and other pelagic fish forage in and migrate through the Sea, as do a number of whale species, notably sperm whales and humpbacks. The Sargasso Sea supports a range of endemic species and plays a critical role in supporting the life cycle of a number of threatened and endangered species such as the Porbeagle shark, the American and the European eel, as well as billfish, tuna and several species of turtle, migratory birds and cetaceans.The Sargassum mats are home to many endemic species and provide a protective ‘nursery’ for juvenile fish and turtles. There is emerging recognition of the crucial role it plays in the wider ecosystem ranging from the Atlantic to the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The Sargasso Sea Commission was established pursuant to the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea, signed on 11 March 2014, by the governments of the Azores, Bermuda, Monaco, UK and US. The Commission will “encourage and facilitate voluntary collaboration toward the conservation of the Sargasso Sea.” While the Commission has no management authority, it will “exercise a stewardship role for the Sargasso Sea and keep its health, productivity and resilience under continual review.” A more specific initial mandate is listed in Annex II of the Declaration. The Commission is the result of three years of work by the Sargasso Sea Alliance, and operates as a stand-alone legal entity established by Bermudian and US law. Operating in a largely virtual setting, Commissioners will serve in-kind in their personal capacity and will be supported by a small Secretariat based at the IUCN Washington, DC office. Commissioners were appointed by the Government of Bermuda and were selected through a consultation process in Spring 2014 by governments who support the aims of the Hamilton Declaration.
Operating as usual
12/16/2020
On December 15, the United Nations Development Programme - UNDP, Unesco - Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and the Sargasso Sea Commission launched the preparations for a $3 million grant from the Global Environment Facility - the first-ever GEF grant designed to address high seas governance. This will have major implications for stewardship and sustainable governance of the Sargasso Sea. For more information, stay tuned for the end-of-year Sargasso Sea Commission newsletter!
12/07/2020
Shark fin smugglers worldwide finally being stopped by FIU researchers' DNA toolkit
Global shark fin and European eel smugglers are being thwarted by DNA technology perfected by researchers at Florida International University.
12/07/2020
BIOS-SCOPE funding renewed
BIOS-SCOPE funding renewed
The Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences -- Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology (BIOS-SCOPE) program received five years of additional funding from the Simons Foundation International to continue its study of the microbial oceanography of the Sargasso Sea. This collaborative research....
12/02/2020
Global sustainable fishing initiative agreed by 14 countries
Global sustainable fishing initiative agreed by 14 countries
Governments to reduce pollution in oceans and end subsidies that contribute to overfishing
12/02/2020
Stable ocean circulation in changing north Atlantic Ocean, study finds
Stable ocean circulation in changing north Atlantic Ocean, study finds
Ocean vertical structures are changing as a result of global warming. Whether these changes are in pace with the ocean circulation is unknown.
11/23/2020
The seaweed swamping the Atlantic Ocean
The seaweed swamping the Atlantic Ocean
A sargassum bloom the width of the Atlantic Ocean caused havoc on beaches, but locals in Mexico and the Caribbean are fast finding ways to turn the seaweed invasion to their advantage.
11/19/2020
Three reasons why it’s important to protect the ocean | Virgin
It was brilliant to join the Paris Peace Forum to talk about why we need to protect the high seas.
11/18/2020
Small steps taken to make shipping greener
https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54985109
Delegates agree on guidelines to align the industry with the Paris climate change treaty.
11/09/2020
Europe’s eels at risk from lucrative illegal trafficking
Michael Viney: Brexit and power stations are threats to Irish population hit by major decline
11/09/2020
Video: Greenpeace Visits The Sargasso Sea - Bernews
Video: Greenpeace Visits The Sargasso Sea - Bernews
Greenpeace launched an expedition from Bermuda to the Sargasso Sea in August of last year to “study the impact of plastics and microplastics on marine life, and to document the importance of this unique ecosystem for protection under a new Global Ocean Treaty that is being negotiated at the UN.”...
10/29/2020
Wanderlust: Why we need more protection for migratory animals | DW | 28.10.2020
Wanderlust: Why we need more protection for migratory animals | DW | 28.10.2020
Migratory species from birds to elephants and eels travel huge distances and cross international borders. But man-made problems are threatening these species and their journeys. Cross-border protection is key.
10/28/2020
Check out our latest newsletter to read some exciting updates from the Sargasso Sea Commission - including Commissioner re-appointments, a major new study of the Sargasso Sea from BIOS-Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences, the launch of the NASA COVERAGE website, and more. https://conta.cc/34ys6em
10/19/2020
Long-term data show a recent acceleration in chemical and physical changes in the ocean
Long-term data show a recent acceleration in chemical and physical changes in the ocean
New research uses data from two sustained open-ocean hydrographic stations in the North Atlantic Ocean near Bermuda to demonstrate recent changes in ocean physics and chemistry since the 1980s. The study shows decadal variability and recent acceleration of surface warming, salinification, deoxygenat...
10/19/2020
The Sargasso Sea has become warmer and saltier, and the loss of oxygen and ocean acidification is accelerating | News | BIOS - Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences
The Sargasso Sea has become warmer and saltier, and the loss of oxygen and ocean acidification is accelerating | News | BIOS - Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences
Posted on: October 16, 2020 1:35 PM by: Nicholas R Bates Category: Journal, Ocean Biogeochemistry, Environmental Monitoring, Climate Change, Time-series, In the News Source: Springer Nature, Sustainability Community Read more at SpringerNature These are the findings from nearly forty years of shipbo...
10/19/2020
BIOS-Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences
BIOS senior scientist and director of research Professor Nick Bates and assistant scientist Rod Johnson published research in Nature Communications in Earth and Environment, released today, that uses 40 years of ocean science data collected from the Hydrostation 'S' and Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) programs at BIOS to demonstrate recent changes in ocean physics and chemistry.
Ahead of the paper's publication, Nature reached out to Bates and asked him to write a "Behind the Paper" blog to give additional insight into the real story behind the paper, including his personal experiences. His blog can be read online at http://bit.ly/BehindthePaper
The full paper, Acceleration of ocean warming, salinification, deoxygenation and acidification in the surface subtropical North Atlantic Ocean, is also available online at:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43247-020-00030-5
09/30/2020
Unesco - Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
[JOB OFFER] We're looking for a Team Leader/Project Document Preparation Specialist for the GEF PPG Project: “Strengthening the stewardship of an economically and biologically significant high seas area – the Sargasso Sea".
All info: https://on.unesco.org/2S9TGr5
Deadline 13 oct 2020
09/25/2020
Three Appointed To Sargasso Sea Commission - Bernews
Three Appointed To Sargasso Sea Commission - Bernews
The Bermuda Cabinet approved the appointment of three international experts to the Sargasso Sea Commission on Tuesday [Sept 22]. A spokesperson said, “On Tuesday, September 22, 2020, the Bermuda Cabinet approved the appointment of three International Experts to the Sargasso Sea Commission. “The ...
09/24/2020
Experts join Sargasso Sea Commission | The Royal Gazette:Bermuda News
Experts join Sargasso Sea Commission | The Royal Gazette:Bermuda News
On Tuesday, September 22, 2020 the Bermuda Cabinet approved the appointment of three International Experts to the Sargasso Sea Commission. The Sargasso Sea Commission was established by the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea, signed in Bermuda on March 11,...
09/15/2020
RISE UP - A Blue Call to Action
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pj2Cefvwn98&feature=youtu.be
We must act together to stop destroying the very planet that sustains us. Join the hundreds of organisations that have already signed on to #RiseUp4theOcean....
08/24/2020
SARGASSO SEA COMMISSION
SARGASSO SEA COMMISSION
The University of Exeter Global Systems Institute and Plymouth Marine Laboratory (PML), partners in the PhycoMExUK project, have had the privilege of becoming collaborating partners of the Sargasso Sea Commission. The Sargasso Sea is an area of open ocean situated within the North Atlantic Subtropic...
08/12/2020
Eels Don’t Have Sex Until the Last Year of Their Life - Issue 88: Love & Sex - Nautilus
Eels Don’t Have Sex Until the Last Year of Their Life - Issue 88: Love & Sex - Nautilus
Fishing for eels was a primal childhood experience for Patrik Svensson. On summer nights his father would take him down to a small…
08/12/2020
No one can figure out how eels have sex - Lucy Cooke
No one can figure out how eels have sex - Lucy Cooke
Check out Lucy Cooke's "The Truth About Animals": https://bit.ly/TruthAboutAnimals -- From Ancient Greece to the 20th century, Aristotle, Freud, and numerous...
08/12/2020
Sharks contaminated with plastic are ‘cause for concern’
Sharks contaminated with plastic are ‘cause for concern’
There are trillions of microplastics in the ocean — they bob on the surface, float through the water column, and accumulate in clusters on the seafloor. With plastic being so ubiquitous, it’s inevitable that marine organisms, such as sharks, will ingest them. A new study in Scientific Reports in...
07/24/2020
The most recent fishing season sees 108 smugglers arrested and over 2 tonnes of glass eels seized in Europe
The most recent fishing season sees 108 smugglers arrested and over 2 tonnes of glass eels seized in Europe
On the occasion of the World Environment Day, which takes places tomorrow, Europol marks this day by promoting environmental action and its commitment to support EU Member States in tackling environmental crime. The annual Operation Lake aims to combat trafficking of endangered species in the EU and...
07/16/2020
Sargassum seaweed can harbor a variety of aquatic life
Sargassum seaweed can harbor a variety of aquatic life
Some Caribbean countries and some parts of Florida are having problems with Sargassum seaweed. Sargassum is that golden/brown seaweed that washes up onto
07/16/2020
Webinar: The Science of Sargassum
Webinar: The Science of Sargassum
On 26 May 2020, UNEP together with partners IOC-UNESCO and the two Regional Seas under the Cartagena and Abidjan Conventions started a webinar series to highlight key scientific, societal and ecological challenges, responses to prevent impacts and trans-disciplinary and trans-institution collaborati...
07/10/2020
The Sargasso Sea—a Living Laboratory for Change
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2019/06/sylvia-earle-sargasso-sea-living-laboratory-for-change/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Animals_20200709&rid=C38DD0D6D7F25E0E30568EF5FCE15192 via National Geographic Magazine
Acclaimed oceanographer Sylvia Earle explores how this vital ecosystem can be used as a model to protect the world’s oceans.
07/08/2020
First direct evidence of ocean mixing across the Gulf Stream
First direct evidence of ocean mixing across the Gulf Stream
New research provides the first direct evidence for the Gulf Stream blender effect, identifying a new mechanism of mixing water across the swift-moving current. The results have important implications for weather, climate and fisheries because ocean mixing plays a critical role in these processes. T...
07/02/2020
Gulfweed invasion - Logbook 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p70OhN_F21M&feature=youtu.be Thanks to ENERGY OBSERVER for the great video on Sargassum!
🎥The crew leaves the mangrove to set sail for l’ile Fourchue. Off the island of Montserrat, a huge sargasso raft! These seaweeds, a veritable scourge when th...
07/01/2020
Gilda Williams on Joey Holder
https://www.artforum.com/print/reviews/202006/joey-holder-83330
By the time female European eels complete their three-thousand-mile, one-to-two-year-long swim from the continent’s rivers back to the Sargasso Sea to spawn, they’ve devoured most of their own skeletons and muscle mass and basically resemble mobile sacks of eggs. Eels are semelparous, meaning th...
06/30/2020
How do you deal with 9m tonnes of suffocating seaweed?
How do you deal with 9m tonnes of suffocating seaweed?
Across the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean, scientists are developing alternative sustainable solutions to the golden tide of Sargassum
06/30/2020
Earth's final frontier: the global race to map the entire ocean floor
Earth's final frontier: the global race to map the entire ocean floor
An ambitious project to chart the seabed by 2030 could help countries prepare for tsunamis, protect marine habitats and monitor deep-sea mining. But the challenge is unprecedented
06/22/2020
IUCN and DOSI - Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative invite you to join us tomorrow to discuss the concept and applicability of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and Area-based Management Tools (ABMTs) in areas beyond national jurisdiction. The webinar will include expert presentations plus opportunities for participants to ask questions from a larger panel of experts and government officials.
For more details and to register, please visit https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/5922802365025416464
06/18/2020
The Sargasso Sea
The Sargasso Sea is a verdant, vital ecosystem that supports a great diversity of life, provides shelter and feeding grounds for marine mammals. It is an encyclopedia of ocean knowledge and exceptional area for research and monitoring of ocean systems. While perhaps not as extensive as other wild places, it is certainly as vital as any natural environment on Earth. Sadly, the Sargasso also serves as a repository for much of the spoils of human endeavor: shipping, fishing, harvesting, and pollution. via World Ocean Observatory
The Sargasso Sea is a verdant, vital ecosystem that supports a great diversity of life, provides shelter and feeding grounds for marine…
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A video collaboration between the Sargasso Sea Commission and Mr. Andrew Stevenson's humpback whale research and videography in Bermuda.
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From the last Sargasso Sea Commission meeting.