VME Closed Areas (NAFO)

The FAO International Guidelines for the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas provide recommendations or guidance for the identification of VMEs, and list potentially vulnerable species groups, communities and habitats. Moreover, they specifically recommend the development of identification guides for use by non-specialist technical staff at sea to assist in the rapid and efficient classification of VME taxa, which can often be confused and difficult to identify. In this direction, FAO and RFMO/As have developed tools for the identification of VMEs and taxonomic guides essential for the reliable identification of VME indicators by observers. NAFO are in charge of management in the Northwest Atlantic. Within its Convention Area, NAFO has identified 21 areas as being vulnerable to bottom contact gears and subsequently closed these areas to bottom fishing (see Article 17 of the NAFO CEM). NAFO has also delineated existing bottom fishing areas (footprint) to regulate bottom fisheries that cause a significant adverse impact on vulnerable marine ecosystems. NAFO started developing in protocols for protecting vulnerable marine ecosystems from possible significant adverse impacts resulting for the use of bottom contact fishing gears in the NRA in 2006. Initially, four seamount areas were closed as a precautionary measure and a request made for contracting parties to submit their benthic survey data. The NAFO Scientific Council (SC) established WGEAFM and also worked jointly with ICES WGDEC to provide advice to the NAFO Fisheries Commission (FC). Extensive data sets from Canadian Government fisheries surveys, EU Flemish Cap survey and EU Spanish 3NO survey were used to provide initial distributions of corals and sponges and these were later supplemented by dedicated Canadian and Spanish NEREIDA project cruises in 2008-2010. Early fishing and benthic surveys undertaken in the 1970s by Russia provided much of the historical seamount information. In 2012, the FC-SC Working Group on Ecosystem Approach Frameworks to Fisheries Management (FC-SC WGEAFFM) was created, and in 2013 the SC WGEAFFM renamed to SC WGESA. In 2014, SC undertook a comprehensive review of their closures to protect benthic habitats. In 2015, the decision was made to remove the potential for exploratory bottom fishing in seamount closures (FC Doc. 15/23).In 2019, The Commission requested SC to make an assessment of NAFO bottom fisheries in 2021 and to conduct a re-assessment of VME closures by 2020. SC gave their advice on VMEs closures in June 2020 and on an assessment of risks of SAI the following year. The Commission adopted measures to extend the VME closures effective from 2022 to afford great protection. The VME closed areas are divided into two categories, the blue areas in the map below represent the seamount closures, and the red areas represent the sponge, coral, and seapen closures. As reflected in Article 17 of the NAFO CEM, no vessel shall engage in bottom fishing activities in any of these areas. The coordinates for these areas are provided in Article 17 of the NAFO CEM. The original files can be found here.