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 INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP TO DEVELOP AN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT PLAN FOR THE CLARION CLIPPERTON ZONE Abstracts Areas of Environmental Interest proposal, ISBA/14/LTC/2* – Prof Craig Smith, University of Hawaii Environmental work carried out by DORD – Dr Yoshitaka Hosoi, Deep Ocean Resources Development co., Ltd (DORD) Environmental work carried out by BGR – Dr. Carsten Rühlemann, Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) Environmental work carried out by IFREMER – Dr Lénaick Menot, IFREMER Environmental work carried out by KORDI Presentation on Draft Environmental Management Plan – Dr Robin Warner, and Dr Charles Morgan, The Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources & Security/Planning Solutions, Inc The experience of Nautilus minerals with regard to environmental management – Dr Samantha Smith, Nautilus Minerals Inc Additional data and information that could be provided by CenSeam – Dr Malcolm Clark, Census of Marine Life – CenSeam The Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone MPA and other relevant work carried out by OPSAR – David Johnson, OSPAR 1 Work carried out by IUCN that is of relevance to the establishment of a regional environmental management plan for the Clarion­Clipperton Zone in the central Pacific– Kristina Gjerde, IUCN Why there is a need to consider the pelagic environment when preparing an environmental management plan for the Clarion Clipperton Zone – David Billet, ISA Legal and Technical Commission 2 Areas of Environmental Interest Proposal, ISBA/14/LTC/2* (Abstract text submitted by presenter) I will revisit the recommendations made by the expert participants in the workshop to Design Marine Protected Areas for Seamounts and the Abyssal Nodule Province in Pacific High Seas, (October, 2007, Honolulu) providing additional support from the recent scientific literature for (1) the scientific validity of this approach, and (2) the division of the CCZ into 9 subregions based on productivity and faunal gradients. The original recommendations are as follows: Based on accepted principles of ecosystem management, we recommend that International Seabed Authority (ISA) immediately set up a system of Areas of Environmental Interest to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function in the abyssal Pacific region targeted for nodule mining (the Clarion‐Clipperton Zone). One representative PRA should be placed in each of nine subregions of the Clarion‐Clipperton Zone defined by productivity gradients and faunal turnover. PRAs should be situated so as to protect as many seamounts within a subregion as possible, and to avoid or minimize overlap with existing mining exploration and reserved claim areas. The recommended PRA system is designed (1) using sound scientific principles and the most current data from the region, (2) to be consistent with the legal framework and environmental guidelines of the ISA for managing deep‐sea nodule mining and protecting the deep‐sea environment, and (3) to incorporate the interests of mining claim holders and other stakeholders in the “Area”. Environmental work carried out by DORD (Abstract text submitted by presenter) In Japan, aiming at the commercial mining of manganese nodules in the future, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) had entrusted Metal Mining Agency of Japan (MMAJ, following Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation: JOGMEC) to conduct a series of research for deep‐sea investigation and exploitation. MMAJ and Deep Ocean Resources Development Co., Ltd. (DORD) initiated the eight‐year’s project entitled “Environmental Impact Research for Manganese Nodule Mining” in 1989. The goals of this study are to obtain environmental baseline information of the Japan mining claim area and to evaluate the magnitude of impacts that might be caused by commercial mining. The survey area covered a Japanese mining claim in the CCFZ (Clarion‐Clipperton Fracture Zone), equatorial part of the northeast Pacific Ocean. The project surveys were focused on the surface layer and benthic layer. The surface layer studies had begun in the third year, 1991. The chemical environmental study had been conducted to predict the impact of the nutrient‐rich bottom water that was supposed to be discharged at the surface during commercial mining. The parameters measured included nitrate, nitrite and phosphate, and water samples were collected silicate in seven layers at 11 locations, just as for the phytoplankton survey. CTD meters had measured the physical parameters of water, such as temperature and salinity. In the final two years, zooplankton‐net sampling had been carried out. The Benthic layer studies obtained baseline information about benthic communities, benthic currents and sediment characteristics, and in order to evaluate the impacts of the miming operations, an artificial benthic disturbance experiment, known as JET (Japan Deep‐Sea Impact Experiment) was carried out in the survey area in 1994. JET used the disturber to simulate a nodule collector that creates resuspended sediment. JET1 was sampled just before the disturber operations, JET2 was immediately after the operation, JET3 is one year after (1995) and JET4 (1996) is two years after the disturbance. Each study included as below three studies. The Baseline surveys were carried out from 1991 to 1993 and obtained chemical, physical and biological parameters in the surface and benthic environments in the mining area. The Impact experiments focused on two topics. A response of the plankton community to enrichment with bottom water was carried out from 1992 to 1993, and a benthic disturbance experiment (JET) was carried out in the survey area. The Impact prediction developed the numerical models to predict the environmental impacts on surface and benthic ecosystems that might be caused by larger‐scale deep‐sea mining activity, based on the results of the baseline surveys and impact experiments. We obtained the information of basic environmental data for example water quality, sediment characteristics and benthos communities by baseline surveys and the environmental impacts on above items and bottom current after benthic disturbance by impact experiments. Environmental work carried out by BGR (Abstract text submitted by presenter) In July 2006 the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) signed a contract with the International Seabed Authority concerning the exploration of polymetallic nodules in a license are within the Clarion‐Clipperton Zone (CCZ) of the Pacific Ocean. Since then BGR has accomplished three exploration cruises. The first two cruises with R/V Kilo Moana in 2008 and 2009 were predominantly devoted to bathymetric and backscatter mapping of the western and eastern part of the license area. The aim of an R/V Sonne cruise in April/May 2010 was the eastern part of the German license area. Current multidisciplinary research based on the samples recovered during this cruise includes (1) investigations on sediment porewater oxygen and nutrient concentrations, (2) the evaluation of the microbiota thriving in the sediment and associated with the manganese nodules, and (3) the exploration of the diversity of the benthic faunal assemblage. Partners of this project are four large German marine research facilities, the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI), the Centre for Marine Biodiversity Research (DZMB), the Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology (MPI), and the Leibniz Institute of Marine Sciences (IFM‐Geomar). In total 20 box corer, 15 multicorer and 8 piston/gravity corer deployments have been successfully carried out to sample sediments and nodules from the seafloor within the license area during the last cruise. Video recordings and photos of the seafloor have been taken at five transects over a total distance of 58 km. Moreover, an epibenthos sledge has been deployed five times to sample the benthic fauna. Measurements of pore water oxygen concentration document an average oxygen penetration depth of 1.5 to 2 m. The penetration depth in the German license area which is located in the easternmost part of the Pacific nodule belt is significantly less than in the western part. In the latter one the sedimentary chemical environment is assumed to remain oxygenated over several meters of depths and the surface water bioproductivity is lower by an order of magnitude. In order to investigate the benthic communities on the nodules, on the sediment, and within the upper 20 cm of the sediment column the seafloor in five of the six working areas was sampled with an epibenthos sledge, a multicorer and a box corer. The first results reveal that the macrofauna of the upper 10 cm of the sediment was dominated by polychaetes, followed by tanaids, cumaceans, amphipods and bivalves. Sessile organisms are more abundant in areas with small‐sized nodules than with large ones. As a preliminary result it was shown that the benthic Megafauna in the German license area strongly resembles those of the French license area located some 1000 km to the west. This suggesting, that Megafauna organisms may be distributed over large distances along the CCZ. It is not known if this is also true for smaller organisms, but a species‐level comparison using morphological and genetic methods is on the way. The Megafauna on the seamounts in the license area is similar to the benthic community of the deep‐sea plains. The seamounts may thus serve as refugial areas from where a recolonization could start. Environmental work carried out by Ifremer (Abstract text submitted by presenter) Ifremer has a long history of environmental studies in the Clarion‐Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ), over the last 40 years. The first period of intensive geological surveys was carried out from 1970 to 1988, at increasingly higher spatial resolution but in the same time smaller spatial extent, from the systematic sampling of the whole CCFZ at localities distant of 50 nm to highly detailed investigations in the NIXO45 zone, 400 km² in area. During over 26 cruises, about 1300 localities have been investigated, generating over 3000 samples and 25000 pictures of the seafloor, along with bathymetric data. Some of the data have been provided to the International Seabed Authority as part of the development of a geological model for the CCFZ but most raw data, interpreted maps, videos and pictures obtained during this period have not been digitized. More recently, ecological investigations were carried out during the Nodinaut cruise in 2004. The cruise had three objectives: 1. Describe and explain megafaunal, macrofaunal and meiofaunal community patterns at large spatial scale, between the eastern (ECA) and central (CCA) French mining claim areas, and at small spatial scale between facies with and without nodules within the CCA. 2. Assess the recovery potential of benthic communities in a dredge track 26 years‐old 3. Contribute to the study of species range and gene flow in the Clarion‐Clipperton Zone in the framework of the Kaplan project. Blind sampling and sample processing, both biological and environmental, were carried out following standard protocols for abyssal studies. The submersible Nautile was further used to assess megafaunal distribution patterns and to sample the fauna and sediments in and outside the dredge track. Densities and community composition vary for all size groups and at the two spatial scales considered. Densities are lower in the ECA, consistent with longitudinal gradients of decreasing primary productivity, organic carbon content and respiration rates towards the eastern CCFZ. Sediment covered by nodules shows higher macrofaunal and megafaunal densities but lower meiofaunal densities. Community composition differs between the two facies for the three size groups thus enhancing beta diversity. Samples and measurements in and outside the dredge track provided evidence of recovery, although visually the 26 years‐old track looked like fresh. Respiration rates and macrofaunal densities were similar in and outside the track. The sampling effort however was too low to conclude on the recovery in community composition. The Nodinaut cruise confirmed the high level of local diversity in the CCFZ, driven by the occurrence of numerous singletons, and further highlighted species turnover at both large and small spatial scales. Environmental work carried out by KORDI (Abstract text submitted by presenter) To access the environmental impact by the deep‐sea mining activity through the environmental baseline study in Clarion‐Clipperton Fracture Zone, the environmental baseline studies were carried out from 1998 to 2010. The study area is covered from the equator to 17 °N, and from 128 °W to 136 °W, including the Korean claim area. From 1998 to 2005, the environmental surveys carried out a wide scale including our claim area. After then, the surveys have been carried out only in our claim area until now. We investigated the distribution and the natural variability of environmental parameters including 5 categories such as physical, chemical, biological, geological, bioturbation and sedimentation which was proposed by ISA environmental guideline (ISBA/7/LTC/1/Rev.1**). The study area is characterized by 3 major surface currents: the south equatorial current (SEC), North equatorial counter current (NECC), and North equatorial current (NEC). Surface water convergence occurred at the boundary of the westward flowing SEC and eastward flowing NECC, and divergence occurred at the boundary of the NECC and westward NEC. The range of NECC was varied from 2 °N to over 4 °N. The sea surface temperature was varied from 26.74 to 28.65Ԩ(average 27.95Ԩ) at a long term monitoring station (KOMO: 10.5°N, 131.33°W) during 15 years (1995 ‐ 2009). The chemical parameters of surface water show typical ocean characteristics with sustaining constant component ratios. The depth of thermocline was annually varied with a few tens of meters. The spatial and vertical distribution of inorganic nutrients and organic matter in surface water was significantly affected by the physical features. Biomass and productivity of pelagic ecosystem in study area show the latitudinal gradient with decrement from equator to higher latitudes. The distribution of benthic fauna also shows the tendency to decrease biomass in the higher latitudes. There is also longitudinal variations of biological factors but it is much less than the latitudinal variation. Based on the data, the pelagic and benthic ecosystems seem to be closely coupled. The sedimentary facies in the study area show the strong latitudinal variations; a dominance of carbonate sediments in the south of 7°N, a dominance of biogenic siliceous sediments between 7°N～12°N, and the red clay in the north of 12°N. In general, sediment flux is high in low latitude because of the high biological productivity. Particularly, in the south of 7°N, the carbonate sediments were well preserved because the depth of water is lower than CCD with the high deposition rate. At KOMO station, long‐term time series material flux research (2003‫׽‬2005) found the strong seasonality of material flux. The average flux of the warm season (June to November) was 16.4±8.02 mg m‐2 day‐1, while that of the cold season (Dec. to May) was 27.8±8.38 mg m‐2 day‐1. The flux was much higher during the cold season due to the high biological productivity in surface. Although some of environmental studies, such as process of chemical exchange between the sediment and the water column, demersal scavenger, pore water chemistry, haven't not been conducted yet, these studies are the most priority items to conduct soon in the future. In the aspects of international collaborations, there is the bi‐annual meeting of Korea‐China cooperation to exchange information and results. The cross participation of researchers in environmental surveys with France for collaborative efforts with other entities and we made efforts for standardization of analysis through the cross experiments with Australia. All environmental sampling and analysis are based on standardization of environmental data and followed the recommendation and documents provided by ISA. From the Korea's environmental research, total 57 scientific papers have been published and the list of them will be submitted to ISA. Development of an Environmental Management Plan for the Clarion Clipperton Zone (Abstract text submitted by presenters) The purpose of this report is to examine the legal and technical considerations related to the establishment of an Environmental Management Plan for the CCZ and to present the essential characteristics of such a plan for consideration by the Workshop participants. The report addresses the following tasks: 1. It reviews the applicable legal and policy basis for the development of the Plan, including Part XI of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the precautionary principle as reflected in the Rio Declaration and other instruments, current regulations adopted by the ISA, the International Marine Minerals Society Environmental Code, and others; 2. It describes the other important legal regimes that relate to the development of the Plan, including other sections of the Convention on the Law of the Sea, the UN Fish Stocks Agreement, the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, regional agreements among various nations, and other regimes; 3. It summarizes the progress made to date in assessing the environmental risks from seabed mining in the CCZ and the key areas that must initially be addressed through implementation of the Plan; 4. It applies the general template provided by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO14001) to define the functions that should be carried out by the ISA, in cooperation with all stakeholders in the development of the CCZ mineral resources, to develop an Environmental Management System, that can draft, implement, and update the Plan; 5. It provides a summary of the current status of development achieved by the ISA Contractors within the CCZ, a summary of relevant oceanographic tools available to address the key unknowns to be assessed by monitoring, and suggests a strategy for initial development of ISA monitoring requirements; and 6. It describes general procedures recommended to ensure that the plan is implemented effectively and with proper management and external controls. The experience of Nautilus minerals with regard to environmental management (Abstract text submitted by presenter) Nautilus Minerals (Nautilus) is following the lead of the petroleum industry as it strives to tap vast offshore resources. Planning is well underway for the Solwara 1 Project in the Bismarck Sea, Papua New Guinea (PNG) to recover high‐grade seafloor massive sulphide deposits in 1600 m water depth. The deposit contains an average copper grade >10 times higher than a typical land‐based porphyry copper mine. The high grades combined with a relatively small amount of overburden ensure the Solwara 1 Project will have a significantly smaller physical footprint than its land‐based counterparts. Offshore minerals production also has the advantage of minimal social disturbance. Nautilus is dedicated to setting a high environmental and social responsibility standard. Nautilus recognises the importance of transparent and inclusive stakeholder engagement and has taken a proactive approach to involve as many key stakeholders as possible. One of the first steps in the permitting process in PNG is the preparation of the Environmental Inception Report, which describes the project, its envisaged impacts and the proposed studies for the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Local (PNG‐based) and international environmental scientists, anthropologists, NGOs and other experts were involved in the definition of studies conducted for the Solwara 1 EIA and a team of world‐leading experts was involved with carrying out the studies, culminating in the preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). To ensure transparency, collaborating researchers are free to publish their findings. Following its submission, the EIS was made available for public review and public hearings were held at several locations. The EIS has also undergone a rigorous independent review by PNG government‐engaged consultants. Outside the permitting process, Nautilus works alongside government officials to carry out ongoing community consultations. Information dissemination and feedback acquisition has also occurred through the Nautilus website and attendance at a number of international conferences, workshops, and meetings. This paper will outline the leading edge approach Nautilus has taken in completing the environmental impact statement for the world’s first deep seafloor copper‐gold mine. In addition, this paper will review the permitting process and the government and stakeholder engagement undertaken as part of Nautilus’ desire to “do it right” in this exciting new industry. Additional data and information that could be provided by CenSeam to help develop an environmental management plan for the Clarion‐Clipperton Zone. (Abstract text submitted by presenter) The Census of Marine Life on Seamounts (“CenSeam”) project is a 5 year (2005–10) international research programme that has undertaken work to improve understanding of seamount biodiversity and the effects of human activities. The research has focused on seamounts, but has also evaluated their characteristics in the broader context of deep‐sea habitats and ecosystems. In this presentation, four sources of additional data and information relevant to the Clarion‐
Clipperton Zone (CCZ) will be described: 1)
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SeamountsOnline database: this is a global database of biological information on seamounts. It comprises detailed data on sampling sites (date, time, location, depth, gear method etc) and faunal composition. The database currently holds about 5,500 unique faunal records from 258 seamounts. A further 10,000 records are in the process of being checked and entered. A new global seamount dataset: Bathymetry of the world’s oceans is constantly being updated. The most recent global bathymetry data at 30 second resolution have been examined to identify 33,400 seamounts and 138,400 knolls. Data are available on their location, depth, and areal extent. Coral distribution: Stony corals can form dense reef‐like structures, and are ecologically important on seamounts. A database was compiled for all records of stony corals, and the relationship of coral presence with environmental variables was modeled to predict the habitat suitability of global seamounts (at their summit depth) for stony corals. Seamount classification: A number of physical variables which are available on a global scale can be “biologically meaningful”. A dataset of 13,000 seamounts was classified on the basis of information on benthic biogeography, export production at depth, summit depth, oxygen level, and neighbouring seamount proximity. A hierarchical analysis was carried out to group seamounts with similar characteristics, which resulted in 194 classes globally. This classification can aid selection of sites in planning MPA networks. These data sources can provide new or additional information on seamount location and characteristics within the CCZ and surrounding region to inform discussions on the proposed network of areas of particular environmental interest. The Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone MPA and other relevant work carried out by the OSPAR Commission (Abstract text submitted by presenter) The OSPAR Commission has an obligation and a mandate to protect biodiversity, and a ministerial commitment from 2003 to create a coherent network of well‐managed marine protected areas (MPAs) in the North‐East Atlantic. The 2010 Status Report on the OSPAR network of MPAs recorded 159 sites collectively covering 147 322 km2, the vast majority being within territorial waters of Contracting Parties. At the time the report was drafted no MPA had been established entirely in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, which make up about 40% of the OSPAR maritime area. However, since 2004/5 the case had been made by the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), an Observer organisation within OSPAR, to protect an extensive pilot site, the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone (CGFZ). WWF promoted this deep sea trench, cutting through the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR), as a critical wildlife corridor linking abyssal plain habitat either side of the MAR. Their case also included a section of the Reykjanes Ridge and two smaller seamount areas, which have been closed to bottom fishing by the North‐East Atlantic Fisheries Commission since 2004. To be taken forward, OSPAR Rules of Procedure require any Observer organisation proposal to be sponsored by a Contracting Party. In 2007 the Netherlands co‐sponsored the proposal to consider a CGFZ MPA. This gave an impetus to build up a scientific case against the criteria and conservation priorities established by OSPAR and other international fora, in particular the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Convention on Biological Diversity. Evidence of habitats and vulnerable species from MARECO research cruises, part of the Census of Marine Life initiative, was particularly important to this exercise. The case was also considered by experts from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). Production of a nomination proforma for a CGFZ MPA convinced more OSPAR Contracting Parties to support and co‐sponsor the proposal in 2008. Other OSPAR Contracting Parties were more sceptical and they requested more certainty vis a vis prospective management measures, implications for other competent authorities and legal precedent. OSPAR therefore established a roadmap setting out a plan of action leading up to the ministerial meeting of the OSPAR Commission in 2010. In parallel, Germany as lead country for the OSPAR expert group on MPAs commissioned a scoping report from the University of York that identified eight additional potential MPAs in the wider Atlantic. In 2009 OSPAR accepted the scientific case and conservation objectives for seven potential MPAs plus the CGFZ. However, renewed legal uncertainty was also introduced in 2009 as a consequence of submissions to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS). At the same time, in line with the roadmap, OSPAR sought to formalise working relationships with key competent authorities – the International Maritime Organisation, the International Seabed Authority and the North‐East Atlantic Fisheries Commission – and to broker a draft ‘collective arrangement’ for selected areas, such as CGFZ. In September 2010 OSPAR Ministers established six MPAs in the wider Atlantic. Four of these were nominated by Portugal: areas identified by the University of York now subject to a CLCS submission, and for which Portugal requested OSPAR to protect the superjacent water column. This momentous decision is a start. Currently only part of the CGFZ is protected. There is encouragement for further dialogue between competent authorities: for them to use their best endeavours to effect appropriate management, monitoring and enforcement. And a start has been made towards achieving a truly coherent North‐East Atlantic MPA network by 2012. Work carried out by IUCN that is of relevance to the establishment of a regional environmental management plan for the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (Abstract text submitted by presenter) ABOUT IUCN The International Union for Conservation of Nature helps the world find pragmatic solutions to our most pressing environment and development challenges. It supports scientific research, manages field projects all over the world, and brings governments, non‐government organizations, United Nations agencies, companies, and local communities together to develop and implement policy, laws, and best practice. IUCN is the world’s oldest and largest global environmental network ‐ a democratic membership union with more than 1,000 government and NGO member organizations and almost 11,000 volunteer scientists in more than 160 countries. IUCN’s work is supported by over 1,000 professional staff in 60 offices and hundreds of partners in public, NGO and private sectors around the world. The Union’s headquarters are located in Gland, near Geneva, in Switzerland. We provide a neutral forum for governments, NGOs, scientists, business and local communities to find pragmatic solutions to conservation and development challenges. RELEVANT IUCN ACTIVITIES This presentation will provide an overview of IUCN’s activities of relevance to the establishment of a regional environmental management plan for the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone. Activities will be divided into three areas: 1) Marine spatial planning and management, including both field and theoretical work on marine protected areas and ecosystem‐based adaptation 2) Management and governance of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, including deep sea fisheries, shipping, ocean dumping, pilot marine protected areas, environmental impact assessments and strategic environmental assessments 3) Science‐policy interface— serving as a bridge to inform governments about the latest scientific research and to inform scientists about policy needs. In this capacity, IUCN serves as facilitator and coordinator of the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, which is an international scientific collaboration established to help identify ecologically or biologically significant areas (www.GOBI.org). This work is based on the scientific criteria adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2008 for identifying areas in need of protection in the open ocean and deep sea. Why there is a need to consider the pelagic environment when preparing an environmental management plan for the Clarion‐Clipperton Zone. (Abstract text submitted by presenter) Polymetallic nodules lie on the abyssal seafloor in the Clarion‐Clipperton Zone three miles below the sea surface. What possible reason could there be for including processes at the sea surface in deep‐sea management? The answer lies in “food”. Ninety nine percent of the animals on the deep‐sea floor are dependent for their food on organic matter created by tiny plant cells (phytoplankton) in the sunlit surface waters. The plants cells are fed on by a wide variety of zooplankton, such as minute crustaceans and jellyfish, which are then fed upon by larger organisms, such as fish. All this feeding activity creates a rain of waste (faecal) material, sometimes called ‘marine snow’. The marine snow falls through the water column into the dark waters of the deep sea and eventually ends up on the seabed. A number of processes contribute to the formation of the marine snow. Marine snow aggregates (particles) may fall at a rate of about 100m per day. Some faecal pellets fall even faster at c. 500m in a day. This means that food created at the sea surface can reach the abyss in 10 to 50 days, depending on how it was formed. The abyssal seafloor, therefore, is closely coupled to the sea surface in a matter of weeks to months. Much of the marine snow is recycled several times during its descent. Typically only 1% of the organic matter created at the sea surface reaches the abyss. The deep sea is a food poor environment. However, we are learning that small changes in the amount of food that arrives on the seabed can have quite large ecosystem effects. In areas where there are large seasonal changes in the growth of phytoplankton, such as in polar and temperate seas, or equatorial regions influenced by upwelling events, large seasonal changes occur in the quantity of the detritus. In some areas the seabed disappears during the summer under a carpet of phytodetritus, or ‘marine compost’. In tropical waters, without obvious seasons, there are much smaller changes in the supply of organic matter. Differences in the production of organic matter at the sea surface therefore has a profound effect on the animals that occur on the seabed below depending on how they have adapted to variations in food supply. In addition, we now know that there are differences between years depending on changes in climate, such as El Nino. Moreover, the chemistry of the detritus (its ‘organic quality’) also varies depending on how it was formed. Species found on the seafloor vary in their distributions depending on the quantity, quality and timing of food supply. It follows therefore that a management plan for the conservation of biodiversity on a regional scale must take into account patterns in food production at the sea surface as well as the environmental characteristics of the seabed.