COBRA Webinar – January 2025

Deep-Sea Conservation 

Haydée Rodríguez-Romero (Director of the Coral Reefs of the High Seas Coalition) and Randi Rotjan (Lead Scientist of the Blue Nature Alliance)

The deep ocean contains over 90% of Earth’s living space and plays a vital role in supporting surface life. These ecosystems are crucial for human well-being, regulating climate, fisheries and other benefits to life on Earth, yet the deep sea faces threats from climate change, mining, fishing, and pollution. Despite its enormity and importance, the deep sea is often an overlooked component of global agreements and efforts to protect and conserve marine areas. Raising the profile of the deep sea in conservation — both in the water and at the seafloor — requires better translation of deep-sea research for policy makers and the public as well as better acceptance of Indigenous and community perspectives of the ocean and Indigenous- and community-led initiatives. In this panel, we will hear about these topics through the lens of case-studies on marine protected areas that encompass deep-sea environments, with a focus on their perspectives of the intersection of deep sea knowledge and conservation. Haydée Rodríguez-Romero, Director, Coral Reefs of the High Seas Coalition, together with Randi Rotjan, Lead Scientist, Blue Nature Alliance, will discuss: What is working (or not) for including the deep sea in conservation and management? What gaps need to be overcome to accelerate this? How do we best enable deep-sea conservation?