2011 SOS — The deep sea is sending out a distress call

High seas fishing nations have had five years to implement UN resolutions committing them to protect deep-sea life from destructive fishing. So far they have failed to do so. Is it acceptable that some countries are ignoring the will of the international community and allowing their fishing vessels to destroy the extraordinary marine life in the deep sea that is our common heritage? The vulnerable ecosystems of the deep sea can't afford to wait any longer. It's time for action to protect the Roundnose Grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris) and the many thousands of other species at risk.

The major threat to deep-sea life is today’s technologically advanced deep-sea bottom trawling fishing vessels. More powerful engines, bigger nets, more precise mapping, and advanced navigational and fish-finding electronics have made it possible for vessels to drag fishing gear across the ocean bottom as far as two kilometres below the surface to the canyons and hideaways where Roundnose Grenadier live.

The Roundnose Grenadier has developed some amazing adaptations to survive in the deep sea — one of the most hostile environments found on Earth.

Deep Sea Super Powers

1) The Roundnose Grenadier is one hardy animal; they can thrive in temperatures of 1.6 °C and below! For humans hypothermia sets in if our body temperature drops below 35°C.

2) The Roundnose Grenadier has developed large eyes to capture what little light exists in the deep sea. It has also developed a novel solution to the problem of lighting up the darkness - it can produce and focus its own searchlight when hunting!! This red light lures food right to its waiting mouth, which helps it conserve energy by not having to chase down dinner.

3) To avoid being detected by predators, the Roundnose Grenadier can go into stealth mode. It uses the light organ on its belly to mask its silhouette from below and hide in plain sight from predators looking upward for food.

4) Imagine having a “Spidey” sense, which alerts you to fast approaching danger or food-allowing you a quick escape or a sudden ambush on your prey? Running down the length of the Roundnose Grenadier’s body is the ‘lateral line’ sense organ, which detects movements and vibration in the surrounding water.

5) Living at depths of between 700 — 10,000m is no easy feat. The Roundnose Grenadier has evolved to withstand up to 1000 times the pressure we feel at sea level.

6) Roundnose Grenadier can live for up to 80 years, which is a miracle when biological research has shown that it is generally bigger animals that live longer. Roundnose Grenadier grow to one and a half meters in size but share the same life span as humans and outlive both elephants (78 years) and whale wharks (70 years).

Any animal with that many super powers is worth saving! Don’t you agree?

2011 is a critical year for the protection of life like the Roundnose Grenadier from deep-sea fishing on the high seas.

This year, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), for the first time ever, will conduct an open review of regional and national actions to protect deep-sea species and ecosystems on the high seas from the harmful impacts of bottom fishing. The review will specifically assess the extent to which UNGA resolutions adopted over the past seven years have been implemented by high seas fishing nations and regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs).

We are telling the UN that:

1. While progress has been made in identifying and protecting some vulnerable marine ecosystems, measures taken to date are far from comprehensive;
2. Assessments of fishing activities have not been completed for the majority of bottom fisheries; and
3. Deep-sea fisheries for many species remain unregulated.

High seas fishing States are, with few exceptions, failing to live up to the provisions of UNGA resolutions 61/105 and 64/72. As a result, vulnerable deep-sea life continues to be overexploited and vulnerable marine ecosystems are being lost.

We are calling on States fishing in areas where the UN resolutions have not been fully implemented to cease bottom fishing, as is required by resolution 64/72, until effective measures consistent with the resolutions are adopted and implemented. Any continued fishing should be considered illegal, unregulated or unreported and appropriate enforcement action should be taken against such vessels and the States to whom they are flagged.