On November 12^th the Bermuda Cabinet approved the appointment of three experts to the Sargasso Sea Commission.

The Bermuda Government has led the Sargasso Sea initiative since 2010 and was one of the original signatories to the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea, which was signed on March 11, 2014, and which celebrated its 10^th anniversary earlier this year.

As set out in the Hamilton Declaration, the government of Bermuda has responsibility for the appointment of new scientific expert Commissioners to the Sargasso Sea Commission. Commissioners working in their independent capacities collaborate with ten Signatory governments of the Hamilton Declaration in a voluntary structure to “exercise a stewardship role for the Sargasso Sea and keep its health, productivity and resilience under continual review.”

The appointment of new Commissioners comes alongside other wins for ocean protection: the announcement by the Azores of creating the largest marine protected area network in the North Atlantic, as well as an ongoing process for Bermuda to protect 20% of its waters under marine protected areas with the Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme. Both of these efforts for ocean protection are taking place within 200nm of the coast in the Azores and Bermuda’s exclusive economic zones (EEZs). The work of the Commission focuses on a much larger area of the high seas - beyond the exclusive economic zone of Bermuda.

“The ecology of the offshore Sargasso Sea and Bermuda’s inshore waters are fundamentally connected. I am excited to support the continued work of the Commission in its efforts to conserve this iconic area, which supports the migration routes of animals throughout the Atlantic basin. These new Commissioner appointments have the scientific and diplomatic expertise necessary to acts as excellent stewards of the Sargasso Sea,” said the Hon. Walter H. Roban, Deputy Premier and Minister of Home Affairs.

“The Commission is entering a strategic planning phase,” explained Dr David Freestone, Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission. “In early 2025, we will complete a socio-ecosystem diagnostic analysis (SEDA) of the Sargasso Sea, laying out its ecological importance and the pressures it faces from human activity. This SEDA will give rise to a strategic action programme (SAP) for its conservation, which will be agreed by the Signatories to the Hamilton Declaration, Sargasso Sea Commissioners, and other stakeholders.”

About Sargasso Sea Commission appointments

Dr Ana Colaço is a deep sea ecologist at the University of the Azores. She is now entering her second 3-year term as a Sargasso Sea Commissioner. She has been chief scientist on numerous oceanographic cruises and managed many scientific projects related to hydrothermal vent ecosystems, trophic ecology of deep-sea systems, benthic ecology, biodiversity, and conservation. Dr. Colaço is experienced in international cooperation at the European level and overseas, involved with the International Council for the Exploitation of the Sea (ICES), the International Seabed Authority (ISA), and the Deep Ocean Stewardship Initiative (DOSI). She has also contributed to the second UN World Ocean Assessment and numerous other publications, education and outreach initiatives related to deep-sea conservation.

Dr Frank Muller-Karger, a first-time appointment to the Commission, is a Professor in the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida with a PhD in Marine and Estuarine Sciences. He has studied connectivity between the surface ocean, coastal areas and ocean margins, and the deep ocean, with particular focus on the relationship between surface ocean processes and the ocean bottom of the Sargasso Sea. He has also been involved in the implementation of Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON) and in the leadership of the Marine Life 2030 Program endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. His in-depth scientific knowledge of the region and his specific interest in coordination of biodiversity observations on the high seas will be a great asset to the Commission.

Dr David Johnson, a first-time appointment to the Commission, is a Director of Seascape Consultants Ltd. He is the former Executive Secretary of OSPAR – the Environmental organization responsible for the Northeast Atlantic. He has a long history of work at the marine science and policy interface, with in-depth experience advising on ocean policy and public affairs. Dr Johnson has been involved in Convention on Biological Diversity processes as well as the negotiations of a new legally binding instrument for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). The Commission will benefit from his in-depth knowledge of marine resource management and experience in international diplomacy for the high seas.

For more information, visit the Sargasso Sea Commission website: https://www.sargassoseacommission.org/index.php