Northeast Newfoundland Slope Closure

Ecological Components of Interest

Species of regional importance: cold-water corals and sponges

• Why they are important: Corals and sponges are fragile, slow to recover, structure-providing species.

Habitat that is important to biodiversity conservation: corals and sponges

• Why it is important: The high concentrations of these structure-forming species provides habitat for many other species.

Prohibitions

The ecological components of interest are effectively conserved through the following prohibitions:

All bottom contact fishing activities.

Other Considerations

No human activities that are incompatible with the conservation of the ecological components of interest may occur or be foreseeable within the area.

Environmental Context

Corals and sponges play an important functional role for numerous forms of marine life. They act as spawning and breeding grounds, nurseries, and refuges for many aquatic species. Significant areas of coral and sponge aggregations coincide with areas of higher biodiversity.

The dense aggregations created by large, structure-forming cold-water corals can alter bottom currents and provide niche space for other organisms.

This area also overlaps with 32% of the Orphan Spur, an Ecologically and Biologically Significant Area that supports high diversity, including several depleted species (e.g. Roundnose Grenadier).

Prohibiting bottom-contact gear can protect not only the corals and sponges but also a diversity of other species of fish and invertebrates that use the structural habitat that corals and sponges provide. This area can act as a natural refuge area that may contribute to increased species productivity, which in turn, could potentially lead to increased abundance within and adjacent to the area.