Science Advisory Report 2016/011
Identification of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) in the Offshore Pacific Bioregion
Summary
- Six areas or types of features within the Offshore Pacific Bioregion were assessed against a combination of national (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, DFO) and international (Convention on Biological Diversity, CBD) criteria for identifying Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs). The areas or types of features evaluated encompassed most marine habitats within the Offshore Pacific Bioregion, including those associated with hydrothermal vents, seamounts, the continental slope, the seafloor, and the water column from the seafloor to the surface, including bathypelagic and abyssal waters.
- The combined DFO-CBD methodology merged eight established DFO and CBD EBSA criteria and used an EBSA template adapted from the CBD to organize information. A feature or area was identified as an EBSA if it scored high on at least one of the three primary DFO criteria or if it scored above average (medium or high) across a range of criteria (i.e., cumulative importance; DFO 2004, 2011).
- Five EBSAs were confirmed in the Offshore Pacific Bioregion. They included all hydrothermal vents; all seamounts; the entire continental slope; the Haida Eddy; and the North Pacific Transition Zone (NPTZ). No EBSAs were identified in the bathypelagic and abyssal zones, although information was lacking for many criteria.
- New information should be incorporated into periodic assessments to refine identification of EBSAs and their boundaries.
This Science Advisory Report is from the February 11-12, 2015, Identification of Ecologically and Biologically Significant Areas (EBSAs) in the Pacific Offshore Bioregion. Additional publications from this meeting will be posted on the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) Science Advisory Schedule as they become available.
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