Living Blue Planet Report

Living Blue Planet Report page 18

Deep-sea habitats: North Atlantic Ocean
Important marine ecosystems are not confined to the tropics.
Deep-sea habitats such as seamounts, deep-water corals and polar
habitats are also an integral part of our ocean system. Data for
these habitats is limited, but there is evidence that they are facing
enormous pressure and change.
The North Atlantic Ocean is one of the world’s richest marine
areas. Whales and turtles travel through its waters, and seals and
seabirds as well as many commercially important fish find shelter,
nursery and feeding grounds in the region. The North Atlantic also
hosts diverse and productive habitats, such as cold-water coral reefs
and hydrothermal vents. Due to its wealth of habitats and resources,
the North Atlantic makes a crucial contribution to the economy and
social well-being of many coastal communities and countries in
western Europe.
The index for deep-sea fish populations for the North Atlantic
(Figure 13) is based on 77 populations of 25 species, and indicates a
72 per cent decline over the last 40 years. In the last two decades the
index is more or less stable, but not showing signs of recovery.

The North Atlantic contains a number of vulnerable marine
ecosystems – groups of species, communities or habitats that, based
on the physical and biological features they possess, are deemed
vulnerable to impacts from fishing activities, particularly practices
such as bottom trawling (FAO, 2009). The use of bottom-touching
gear and overfishing of target stocks in these vulnerable areas
damages the marine resources and ecosystems.

0

1

2

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010

Index value (1970=1)

Year

Figure 13: The deep-

sea fish index for the

North Atlantic shows

an overall downward

trend (WWF-ZSL, 2015).

Key

Deep-sea fish index

Confidence limits