Canada signs the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea

The Sargasso Sea, located near Bermuda, is a unique, high-seas marine ecosystem. The ecologically and biologically significant area is unique because it is an area of open ocean bounded on all sides by the clockwise flow of major ocean currents.

The area is named for the Sargassum seaweed – a holopelagic, golden drift algae that forms extensive floating mats on the surface of the ocean. This unique ecosystem is home to a wide range of species, including several identified for protection. It provides habitat, spawning areas, migration pathways, and feeding groups to a diverse range of flora and fauna, including some endangered and commercially important species.

The majority of the ecosystem lies beyond national jurisdictions. The ‘Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea’ was first signed in Hamilton, Bermuda on March 11, 2014. The Declaration resulted in the creation of the Sargasso Sea Commission, which includes a number of international signatories, including Bermuda, United Kingdom, United States of America, and Monaco, as well as collaborating partners, such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Dalhousie University Marine and Environmental Law Institute, working together to protect the area.

The Commission uses the best available scientific research to better understand the unique ecosystem and support efforts to conserve and protect the Sargasso Sea.

Canada’s Commitment to Ocean Conservation and Protection

The Government of Canada remains committed, both domestically and internationally, to conserving and protecting precious marine environments. Signing the Declaration ensures the long-term viability of the globally significant Sargasso Sea ecosystem.

The area plays an important role in the wider North Atlantic ecosystem, serving as habitat, foraging and spawning grounds and as a migratory corridor for many species important to Atlantic Canada. The mats formed by the Sargassum algae are home to many species and provide a protective ‘nursery’ for juvenile fish and turtles. The area is considered the primary spawning ground for American eel, which then migrates to freshwater and is harvested commercially in shore-based fisheries on Canada’s Atlantic coast.

Most recently, in the summer of 2016, Fisheries and Oceans Canada conducted oceanographic and seabed research in the area as part of a scientific expedition from Nova Scotia to Bermuda.

December 2016

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