Submarine canyons without protection

Description

Submarine canyons are biodiversity hotspots, the vast majority of which currently fall outside protected areas. Many of the submarine canyons have to date been under sea ice that has provided natural protection. In light of concerns that retreating sea ice will cause the expansion of offshore industry into new areas, there is an urgent need to expand the current protected areas network to include these pristine environments.

Source:
P.T. Harris, Arctic Marine Conservation Is Not Prepared for the Coming Melt, ICES Journal of Marine Science, 2018, 75(1): 61–71. Based on a map by M. Macmillan-Lawler, personal communication, 2019.