Continental slopes and abyssal plains

Deep water fisheries often target features, such as seamounts and ridges, where food inputs advected by topographically enhanced currents support benthic communities dominated by hard and soft corals, sponges and other suspension feeders.

The ground state of a quantum field theory is usually called the vacuum state or the vacuum.

These services include food production and provision of habitats for aquatic invertebrates, fish, benthic infauna and plants.

The floor plate is a structure integral to the developing nervous system of vertebrate organisms.

And it's destroying that precious benthic community on the bottom, things like sponges and corals, that critical habitat for other animals.

A distinctive fauna has been identified close to the seabed known as the hyper benthic or benthopelagic fauna.

In addition, bottom fisheries are known to induce considerable damage to benthic habitats and other underwater features.

The species diversity of pelagic ecosystems is low compared to benthic ecosystems.

These conditions will slowly spread into the creeks, with serious consequences to marine bottom dwelling species and benthic fauna.

The largest seabed habitats are the continental slopes and abyssal plains, with an area equivalent to 90 per cent of the total global ocean.

It is unlikely that large demersal straddling stocks could occur in this region but the possibility exists for large and small pelagics (e.g., horse mackerel).

Most live pelagically in open water, although some live as surface films at the water sediment interface (benthic), or even under damp atmospheric conditions.

While mining of crusts may be far more localized than that of nodules, the distribution of seamount benthic species may also be far more restricted.115 Management of mining effects must also take account of fishing activities.

Based on the results of this survey, Saudi Arabia states that impacts of the 1991 oil spills persist in near shore subtidal benthic environments.

It may be argued that exploitation of resources on the abyssal plains will not result in species extinctions because source populations of affected species would still exist on the continental margins.

Given the vast size of the abyssal plains and continental slopes, the potential for larvae and juveniles and even adults, in the case of the smallest organisms, to drift over large distances is significant.

However, to assess the potential for extinction resulting from such activities requires information on the geographic range and distribution of individual abyssal species, which is very limited.

In South Africa, the Southern African Scoring System (SASS) method was developed as a rapid bioassessment technique, based on benthic macroinvertebrates, and is used for the assessment of water quality in Southern African rivers.

In relation to the benthic ecosystem, the International Seabed Authority is in the process of establishing a framework to manage successfully threats to the marine environment and its biodiversity from activities in the Area, through its regulations on prospecting and exploration.

Anthropogenic activities and accumulation of solid wastes (e.g. discarded fishing nets, traps, anchors, debris and tyres) can be a threat to the marine habitats, creating anoxic conditions for benthic fauna and having a negative impact throughout the marine ecosystem.

In this submission, Saudi Arabia states that, in addition to the approximately 39 square kilometres of near shore subtidal benthos that was identified in its fourth F4 instalment claim as having oil contaminated sediments, a further unspecified area of sea grass benthos was also impacted by oil.