Gorringe Seamount, located 200 kilometers off the coast of Portugal in the Atlantic Ocean, is the highest seamount in Western Europe. Formed where the African and Eurasian tectonic plates converge, it sits at the confluence of multiple ocean currents, making it a magnet for marine life and a hotspot for biodiversity. With habitats ranging from shallow kelp forests to cold-water corals, the Gorringe seamount is a unique and vital ecosystem, say scientists from the Oceano Azul Foundation, who recently undertook a scientific expedition to the region.
Océano Azul Foundation (OAF) is an international marine conservation organization based in Portugal, whose mission is to “create a unified movement of change towards ocean conservation,” through funding, education, ocean science and research. To find out more, New scientist joined the final leg of his recent expedition to Gorringe Seamount.
A collaboration with the Portuguese government, the expedition consisted of several scientific assessments and survey activities aimed at assessing the species and habitats of the region. This included the deployment of underwater video systems known as Baited Remote Underwater Video (BRUV) systems, the collection of environmental DNA (eDNA), genetic material sampled from seawater and microscopic analysis to identify rare and possibly new species.
The organization hopes this data will help identify the ecological value of the area, thereby strengthening its protection. “Our goal is really to get to the bottom of passing the legislation that dedicates this area as a marine protected area,” says Tiago Pitta e Cunha, CEO of the OFA.
The foundation recently contributed to the creation of the The Azores as the largest marine protected area (MPA) through his previous expeditions. For Pitta e Cunha, the idea that Portugal is not at the forefront of ocean conservation is “inconceivable”. “Every seamount must be protected in the high seas. We should be pioneers of Target 30 by 30,” he says, referring to the global goal to protect 30 percent of the world’s oceans. planet by 2030. Designating the Azores as an MPA safeguards nearly 300,000 square kilometers of ocean around the planet. region, marking an important milestone in global marine management efforts and setting a powerful precedent for the upcoming negotiations to take place in COP16 Biodiversity Summit.
During the Gorringe expedition, scientists not only observed many rare and endangered species, but also recorded more than 40 species for the first time. However, they were more concerned about what they didn’t see. “We would expect the seamount to be teeming with predators, particularly sharks, and we did not see any sharks on this expedition. This is a very worrying result,” says Emanuel Gonçalves, OAF co-chief scientist.
This virtual absence of large predators highlights some of the major threats that human activities, such as deep-sea mining and overfishing, pose to the health of our oceans. The data collected from these assessments will be essential for making recommendations to establish an MPA on the Gorringe Seamount, as well as providing governments with a model for how to adopt legislation for ocean conservation while by involving communities and businesses.
