OSPAR disappoints: a major set-back in for North-East Atlantic species and habitats

Last week in Gothenburg, Sweden, OSPAR (the Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic) met for its annual Commission, and we are sad to report that the outcome of it was a huge disappointment. Generally recognized as one of the most effective regional sea conventions in the world, OSPAR has … Read more

OSPAR Workshop on the improvement of the definitions of habitats on the OSPAR list

Given the diversity of possible appearances of some habitats contained in the OSPAR List of Endangered and/or Declining species and habitats across the North East Atlantic, a more precise description of the habitat as it occurs in relation to different substrates, depths and regions will need to be developed. When defining habitats, there are several … Read more

Atlantic Habitat Protection: Putting our Expedition Data to use

Today is a really exciting day for us. In 2008, OSPAR developed a list of Threatened and/or Declining Species and Habitats. The list is unfortunately vague in many habitat definitions, which prevents a common and clear understanding of where they occur. Because the information that was used to define these habitats was gathered years ago, … Read more