Two new records of sponges from NW Atlantic: Iotroata acanthostylifera (Stephens, 1916) and Janulum spinispiculum (Carter, 1876).

NEREIDA, a Spanish-led multidisciplinary and international project with contribution from various NAFO contracting parties such as Canada, the UK, and Russia, was initiated in response to the UNGA Resolution 61/105. The main objective of the NEREIDA project is to gather information for the identification and delineation of VMEs in the NAFO Regulatory Area with special focus on those dominated by deep-water corals and sponges. This demarcation is a necessary step in the decision making process for the protection of these areas. The NEREIDA data collection programme comprised six research cruises conducted between May and July of 2009 and June and August 2010, aboard the Spanish R/V Miguel Oliver. In 2009, surveys were conducted to the east, north and west of the Flemish Cap and Flemish Pass, whereas in 2010, surveys covered the area south of the Flemish Cap and along the slope of the Tail of the Grand Bank of Newfoundland. In this work we present some results from the analysis of sponges samples collected by rock dredge during the NEREIDA survey programme (2009-2010). There are two new records in the NW Atlantic region: Janulum spinispiculum (Carter, 1876) with distribution in the Northeast Atlantic region: southern Portugal, Azores, Rockall Bank; Mediterranean Sea: Alboran and Ionian Seas, Canyon de la Cassidaigne; North Atlantic: Iceland; Arctic Ocean: Barents Sea, northern Norway and Spitzbergenand (Kelly et al., 2015) and Iotroata acanthostylifera (Stephens, 1916) cited only of Celtics Seas (van Soest, 2007)

New data on deep-water corals and sponges from Spanish/EU and Canadian bottom trawl groundfish surveys in the NAFO Regulatory Area (Divs. 3LMNO): 2008-2010 period

SC WG ON THE ECOSYSTEM APPROACH TO FISHERIES MANAGEMENTNew data on deep-water corals and sponges are presented based on Spanish/EU and Canadian bottom trawl groundfish surveys for the period 2008-2010 in order to make these data available to the NAFO WGEAFM and improve the mapping of sensitive species in the NAFO Regulatory area (Divs. 3LMNO). “Significant” catches (according to the NAFO definition from groundfish surveys) of deep-water corals and sponges are provided and mapped together with the areas closed in 2010. Most of the significant catches of sponges (88%) are inside of the closed areas, meanwhile for corals the results are different according to the group considered. For large gorgonians the 40% are inside, for small gorgonians the 25% and for sea pens all the significant catches recorded are outside of the closed areas

Advances in the Assessment of Habitat Fragmentation and Protection in the NAFO Regulatory Area

NAFO has used kernel density analyses to identify VMEs dominated by large-sized sponges, sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals, erect bryozoans, sea squirts (Boltenia ovifera), and black corals. That analysis generates polygons of significant concentrations of biomass for each VME indicator which are spread across the spatial domain of the NAFO fishing footprint. There is potential for bottom contact fishing to induce changes in both the amount and configuration of habitat (e.g., decreased polygon size, increased polygon isolation, and increased edge area) through direct and indirect impacts, and it is unknown to what degree such changes may already have taken place given the long fishing history of the area. In the Report of the 13th Meeting of the NAFO Scientific Council Working Group on Ecosystem Science and Assessment (WGE-ESA), preliminary work on assessing and monitoring habitat fragmentation was presented. Here we continue that work by recalculating the indices after removing connections that are not identified through particle tracking models. We have reanalyzed the nearest neighbour distances and PX, a proximity index, for the VME polygons noted above, and for the new closed areas that will come into effect 1 January 2022. We show that PX when applied to the new closures appears sensitive to their spatial configuration which bodes will for the ability of this index to identify habitat fragmentation in the future, brought about through fishing activities and/or natural disturbances.Versión del edito

New VME indicator species (excluding corals and sponges) and some potential VME elements of the NAFO Regulatory Area

A review of over 500 taxa known to occur in the NRA revealed three additional faunal groups (additional to NAFO 2008a) that meet the criteria for a VME indicator based on traits related to functional significance, fragility, and the life-history traits of component species that produce a slow recovery to disturbance. These are crinoids, erect bryozoans and large sea squirts. For each group it is the dense aggregations (beds/fields) that are considered to be VME in order to establish functional significance. Although each group is present in the NRA, data to date have not revealed any concentrations of note with the exception of one catch of the stalked tunicate Boltenia ovifera (large sea squirt). Black corals were considered to be VME indicators by NAFO based on what was then known of their distribution. These were included based on the uniqueness/rarity criterion of habitats of rare, threatened or endangered species that occur only in discrete areas, however evaluation of their distribution using trawl survey, rock dredge and underwater video has indicated that they have widespread occurrence at low densities in the NRA and along the continental slopes off Labrador. However, because they are thought to be extremely long-lived and therefore ‘iconic’ if not rare, we have identified where the highest frequency of occurrence is for this taxon. Lastly, based on NEREIDA multibeam bathymetry we have identified more canyon heads, steep flanks and new seamounts in the NRA as possible VME elements

New data on deep-water corals and large sponges from bottom trawl groundfish surveys in the NAFO Regulatory Area (Divs. 3LMNO): 2011-2013 period

New data on deep-water corals and sponges are presented based on Spanish/EU and Canadian bottom trawl groundfish surveys for the period 2011-2013 in order to make these data available to the NAFO WGESA and improve the mapping of sensitive species in the NAFO Regulatory area (Divs. 3LMNO). “Significant” catches (according to the NAFO definition from groundfish surveys) of deep-water corals and sponges are provided and mapped together with the areas closed in 2010. Most of the significant catches of sponges (78.6%) are inside of the closed areas, meanwhile for corals the results are different according to the group considered. For large gorgonians the 87.5% are outside, for sea pens the 75% and for all small gorgonians the significant catches recorded are outside of the closed area

Kernel Density Surface Modelling as a Means to Identify Significant Concentrations of Vulnerable Marine Ecosystem Indicators

The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 61/105, concerning sustainable fisheries in the marine ecosystem, calls for the protection of vulnerable marine ecosystems (VME) from destructive fishing practices. Subsequently, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) produced guidelines for identification of VME indicator species/taxa to assist in the implementation of the resolution, but recommended the development of case-specific operational definitions for their application. We applied kernel density estimation (KDE) to research vessel trawl survey data from inside the fishing footprint of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area in the high seas of the northwest Atlantic to create biomass density surfaces for four VME indicator taxa: large-sized sponges, sea pens, small and large gorgonian corals. These VME indicator taxa were identified previously by NAFO using the fragility, life history characteristics and structural complexity criteria presented by FAO, along with an evaluation of their recovery trajectories. KDE, a non-parametric neighbour-based smoothing function, has been used previously in ecology to identify hotspots, that is, areas of relatively high biomass/abundance. We present a novel approach of examining relative changes in area under polygons created from encircling successive biomass categories on the KDE surface to identify ‘‘significant concentrations’’ of biomass, which we equate to VMEs. This allows identification of the VMEs from the broader distribution of the species in the study area. We provide independent assessments of the VMEs so identified using underwater images, benthic sampling with other gear types (dredges, cores), and/or published species distribution models of probability of occurrence, as available. For each VME indicator taxon we provide a brief review of their ecological function which will be important in future assessments of significant adverse impact on these habitats here and elsewhere.Versión del editor4,411