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Publication
Tracking data and the conservation of the high seas: Opportunities and challenges
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Advisor(s)
Abstract(s)
1. Biologging technology is rapidly advancing—scientists
are obtaining data on movement
and behaviour for a range of species, more accurately than ever before. With
this information, it is possible to understand more about important areas and their
connections across the open ocean including the high seas, beyond national jurisdictions.
But an absence of a global governance framework has so far hindered a
coordinated approach to conservation action on the high seas.
2. We showcase a candidate high seas MPA in the Northeast Atlantic identified primarily
from seabird tracking data and being taken forward under a regional process:
the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Seamount (NACES) MPA, under the
OSPAR Commission. It provides a unique case study to learn about the intricacies
of implementation when applying tracking information for conservation. From
this, we identify the facilitating conditions and challenges faced from identification
to designation and highlight actionable opportunities for future area-based
management of the high seas that will be made possible under a new agreement.
3. Policy implications. The North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Seamount (NACES)
MPA demonstrates the power of translating tracking data into usable geospatial
knowledge to inform conservation and policy and provides an exemplar for a data-driven
approach to high seas conservation that can become a reality under the
forthcoming governance framework (under the United Nations Convention on the
Law of the Sea on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity
of areas beyond national jurisdiction (known as the BBNJ Agreement)). This
new agreement presents a unique conservation opportunity both for the application
of tracking data to conservation outcomes and for the protection of migratory
species.
Description
Keywords
Areas beyond national jurisdiction Atlantic BBNJ treaty Biologging Connectivity High seas Important bird and biodiversity area Marine-protected areas
Citation
Davies, T. E., Carneiro, A. P. B., Campos, B., Hazin, C., Dunn, D. C., Gjerde, K. M., Johnson, D. E., & Dias, M. P. (2021). Tracking data and the conservation of the high seas: Opportunities and challenges. Journal of Applied Ecology, 1. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.14032
Publisher
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing Ltd