Governance and management of living marine resources and fisheries on the continental slope and in the deep sea - a legal framework and some points of departure

摘要

Fisheries in the deep sea utilize both pelagic (mid-water) and demersal (bottom-associated) resources. In the deep sea, there are four pelagic zones: the mesopelagic zone (150-1 000 m), the bathypelagic zone (1 000-3 000 m), the abyssopelagic zone (3000-6 000 m) and the hadal zone (deep ocean trenches). The major deep-sea pelagic resources are species that inhabit the mesopelagic zone but migrate to near-surface layers to feed. Examples from the Northeast Atlantic include the blue whiting (Micromesistius pontassou) and small lantern fish and euphausids that some consider to be potential fishery targets. There are no fisheries in the bathypelagic or deeper zones. Demersal species live on, or near, the seafloor, and in the deep-water region demersalhabitats comprise the continental slope, ranging from the shelf break down to the continental rise and beyond to the abyssal plains of 3 000 m or more.