Issues, status and trends in deep-sea fishery genetic resources

摘要

The deep sea is the largest habitat on earth, covering around 53% of the sea's surface, from the poles to the tropics. The deep-sea region starts at the shelf break at the continental margins, around 200 m, and extends down the continental slope and the continental rise to the abyssal plain at around 6 000 m, and the deep trenches. Deepwater fisheries occur on the continental slopes and on seamounts and exploit resources down to ~2 000 m. The continental slopes cover about 8.8% of the world's surface, an area greater than all the continental shelves and shallow seas, and include the most variable habitats in the deep-sea with canyons, ridges, seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold seeps.