[Coral-List] scientists' deep-sea coral statement

Elliott Norse Elliott at mcbi.org
Mon Nov 24 20:16:07 EST 2003


Dear Coral participants:
 
In recent years new discoveries of deep-sea coral-sponge ecosystems and a growing body of scientific information on the harm caused by bottom trawling have attracted increasing attention in the scientific community, in public media and in the halls of government around the world.  Indeed, for deep-sea coral forests, 2003 feels like 1980 did for tropical forests, a time of rapidly rising understanding and concern.  Marine Conservation Biology Institute believes that the time is now ripe for the scientific community to speak out in unison to slow or stop further harm to these ecosystems.  I am writing to ask those of you who are conservation biologists or marine scientists to become signers of the following statement.

  

In July 2003 MCBI Chief Scientist Lance Morgan and I drafted a statement and circulated it to deep-sea experts to ensure its accuracy.  The attached statement reflects the insights we gained  from scientists when we subsequently circulated it for signing at the 10th Deep-Sea Biology Symposium in Coos Bay OR USA in August 2003 and the 2nd International Symposium on Deep Sea Corals in Erlangen, Germany in September 2003.  Since then we have circulated it at the 2003 Annual Meeting of the Pew Fellows in Marine Conservation in Blaine WA USA in October 2003 and the Washington DC USA follow-up workshop to the Defying Oceans End conference in November 2003. We have also begun circulating it on several computer list-servs where knowledgeable scientists congregate.  Already more than 200 eminent conservation biologists and marine scientists from many nations have signed, and we will endeavor to gather hundreds more signers.  If all goes according to plan, we will release the statement at a well-publicized event at the Annual Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Seattle WA USA in February 2004.

 

If you are a scientist, I would be honored if you could join us in this as soon as possible.   If you are not considered a scientist, I would appreciate your passing it on to your colleagues in the scientific community.  Please send all acceptances (in the following format; Tony Koslow, Ph.D., CSIRO Marine Research, Western Australia, Australia or André Freiwald, Prof. Dr., Institute of Paleontology, Erlangen, Germany; actual signatures are unnecessary) to fan at mcbi.org  or sign the statement at www.mcbi.org <http://www.mcbi.org/>  

 

In appreciation,

 

Elliott  Norse 

 

 

Elliott A. Norse, Ph.D., President 
Marine Conservation Biology Institute 
15806 NE 47th Court 
Redmond WA 98052-5208 USA 
1 425 883 8914 (o) 
1 425 883 3017 (fax) 
elliott at mcbi.org (e-mail) 
www.mcbi.org <http://www.mcbi.org/> 

 

Marine Conservation Biology Institute

Protecting Ocean Life through Science and Conservation Advocacy

 
 

Scientists' Statement on Protecting the World's Deep-sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems

 

      As marine scientists and conservation biologists, we are profoundly concerned that human activities, particularly bottom trawling, are causing unprecedented damage to the deep-sea coral and sponge communities on continental plateaus and slopes, and on seamounts and mid-ocean ridges.

 

      Shallow-water coral reefs are sometimes called "the rainforests of the sea" for their extraordinary biological diversity, perhaps the highest anywhere on Earth. However, until quite recently, few people-even marine scientists-knew that the majority of coral species live in colder, darker depths, or that some of these form coral reefs and forests similar to those of shallow waters in appearance, species richness and importance to fisheries. Lophelia coral reefs in cold waters of the Northeast Atlantic have over 1,300 species of invertebrates, and over 850 species of macro- and megafauna were recently found on seamounts in the Tasman and Coral Seas, as many as in a shallow-water coral reef.  Because seamounts are essentially undersea islands, many seamount species are endemics-species that occur nowhere else-and are therefore exceptionally vulnerable to extinction.  Moreover, marine scientists have observed large numbers of commercially important but increasingly uncommon groupers and redfish among the sheltering structures of deep-sea coral reefs.  Finally, because of their longevity, some deep-sea corals can serve as archives of past climate conditions that are important to understanding global climate change. In short, based on current knowledge, deep-sea coral and sponge communities appear to be as important to the biodiversity of the oceans and the sustainability of fisheries as their analogues in shallow tropical seas.

 

      In recent years scientists have discovered deep-sea corals and/or coral reefs in Japan, Tasmania, New Zealand, Alaska, California, Nova Scotia, Maine, North Carolina, Florida, Colombia, Brazil, Norway, Sweden, UK, Ireland and Mauritania. Because research submarines and remotely operated vehicles suitable for studying the deep sea are few and expensive to operate, scientific investigation of these remarkable communities is in its very early stages.  But it is increasingly clear that deep-sea corals usually inhabit places where natural disturbance is rare, and where growth and reproduction appear to be exceedingly slow.  Deep-sea corals and sponges may live for centuries, making them and the myriad species that depend on them extremely slow to recover from disturbance.

 

      Unfortunately, just as scientists have begun to understand the diversity, importance and vulnerability of deep-sea coral forests and reefs, humans have developed technologies that profoundly disturb them.  There is reason for concern about deep-sea oil and gas development, deep-sea mining and global warming, but, at present, the greatest human threat to coral and sponge communities is commercial fishing, especially bottom trawling. Trawlers are vessels that drag large, heavily weighted nets across the seafloor to catch fishes and shrimps. Scientific studies around the world have shown that trawling is devastating to corals and sponges. As trawlers become more technologically sophisticated, and as fishes disappear from shallower areas, trawling is increasingly occurring at depths exceeding 1,000 meters.

 

      It is not too late to save most of the world's deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems. We commend nations including Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Norway, which have already taken initial steps towards protecting some coral and sponge ecosystems under their jurisdiction. We urge the United Nations and appropriate international bodies to establish a moratorium on bottom trawling on the High Seas. Similarly, we urge individual nations and states to ban bottom trawling to protect deep-sea ecosystems wherever coral forests and reefs are known to occur within their Exclusive Economic Zones. We urge them to prohibit roller and rockhopper trawls and any similar technologies that allow fishermen to trawl on the rough bottoms where deep-sea coral and sponge communities are most likely to occur. We urge them to support research and mapping of vulnerable deep-sea coral and sponge communities. And we urge them to establish effective, representative networks of marine protected areas that include deep-sea coral and sponge communities. 

 

The following have signed the Scientists' Statement on Protecting the World's Deep-sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems. Affiliations are for identification only, and do not imply endorsement by the signers' institutions.  

 

Tony Koslow, Ph.D., CSIRO Marine Research, Western Australia, Australia

André Freiwald, Prof. Dr., Institute of Paleontology, Erlangen, Germany

Daniel Pauly, Ph.D., University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada
Edward O. Wilson, Ph.D., Harvard University, Massachusetts, USA
Sylvia A. Earle, Ph.D., Conservation International, California, USA
Michael Soulé, Ph.D., University of California-Santa Cruz, California, USA
Robert Paine, Ph.D., University of Washington, Washington state, USA
Rainer Froese, Ph.D., Institute of Marine Research, Kiel, Germany
Callum Roberts, Ph.D., University of York, York, UK
Hjalmar Thiel, Prof. Dr., University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
Stephen Hall, Ph.D., Australian Institute of Marine Science, Queensland, Australia
Marta Estrada, Ph.D., Institut de Ciencies del Mar, Catalunya, Spain
Verena Tunnicliffe, Ph.D., University of Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
P. Dee Boersma, Ph.D., University of Washington, Washington state, USA
Boris Worm, Ph.D., Institute for Marine Science, Kiel, Germany
Peter Auster, Ph.D., University of Connecticut, Connecticut, USA 
Ransom Myers, Ph.D., Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Sandra Brooke, Ph.D., Oregon Institute of Marine Biology, OR, USA
Lisa Levin, Ph.D., Scripps Institution of Oceanography, California, USA
Rodrigo Bustamante, Ph.D., Charles Darwin Foundation, Galapagos Islands, Ecuador
John Gray, Ph.D., University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
Jason Hall-Spencer, Ph.D., University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
George Somero, Ph.D., Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, California, USA
Richard Bromley, Ph.D., University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
Giovanni Bearzi, Ph.D., Tethys Research Institute, Milano, Italy
Manfred Krautter, Prof. Dr., Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany 
Alex Rogers, Ph.D., British Antarctic Survey, Cambridge, UK
John Gage, Ph.D., Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory, Oban, Scotland 
Erdal Ozhan, Ph.D., Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey
Jose Orensanz, Ph.D., Centro Nacional Patagónico, Chubut, Argentina
Ana Parma, Ph.D., Centro Nacional Patagónico, Chubut, Argentina
Richard Kenchington, D.Sc., University of Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Alan White, Ph.D., Tetra Tech EM Inc, Cebu City, Philippines
Edgardo Gomez, Ph.D., University of the Philippines, Quezon City, Philippines
Anthony Charles, Ph.D., Saint Mary's University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Giuseppe Notarbartolo di Sciara, Ph.D., Tethys Research Institute, Milano, Italy
Amanda Vincent, Ph.D., University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada 
Paul Dayton, Ph.D., University of California San Diego, California, USA
Michael Rex, Ph.D., University of Massachusetts-Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Larry Crowder, Ph.D., Duke University, North Carolina, USA
Les Watling, Ph.D., University of Maine, Maine, USA
Helene Marsh, Ph.D., James Cook University, Queensland, Australia
Fiorenza Micheli, Ph.D., Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University, California, USA
James Estes, Ph.D., US Geological Survey, California, USA
Elva Escobar Briones, Ph.D., Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, D.F., Mexico
Elisa Berdalet i Andrés, Ph.D., Institut de Ciències del Mar, Barcelona, Spain
Alex Aguilar, Ph.D., Universidad de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
James Carlton, Ph.D., Williams College-Mystic Seaport, Connecticut, USA 
Anne Kapuscinski, Ph.D., University of Minnesota, Minnesota, USA
John Brodie Wilson, Ph.D., Royal Holloway University of London, UK
Kostas Kiriakoulakis, Ph.D., University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
Marie-Cecile Le Goff-Vitry, Ph.D. Southhampton University, UK 
Anthony Grehan, Ph.D., National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
Marco Taviani, Ph.D., Istituto di Scienze Marine, Sezione Geologia Marina, CNR, Bologna, Italy
Anneleen Foubert, Ph.D., University of Ghent, Gent, Belgium 
Matthias López Correa, Ph.D., Erlangen University, Germany 
Marco Stadelmaier, Ph.D. candidate, Universität Stuttgart, Stuttgart, Germany 
Sebastiano Di Geronimo, Ph.D., Università de Catania, Italy
Martin White, Ph.D., National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland
Martin Hovland, Ph.D., Statoil, Stavanger, Norway
Dierk Hebbeln, Ph.D., Universität Bremen, Bremen, Germany 
Emerson Muziol Morosko, M.Sc., Petrobras, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Nadiezhda Santodomingo, Ph.D., INVEMAR, Santa Marta, Colombia 
Jeremy Colman, Ph.D., Woodside Energy, Perth, Australia 
Helmut Lehnert, Ph.D., Thetis-IBN, Hamburg, Germany
Evan Edinger, Ph.D., Memorial University of Newfoundland, Newfoundland, Canada 
J. Murray Roberts, Ph.D. Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, UK
Marc Lavaleye, Ph.D., Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Den Burg - Texel, The Netherlands
Mark Tasker, Ph.D. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Aberdeen, UK
Susan Gass, M.Sc., Scottish Association for Marine Science, Oban, UK
Javier Reyes, M.Sc., INVEMAR, Santa Marta, Colombia 
Andy Wheeler, Ph.D., University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
Carl Safina, Ph.D., Blue Oceans Institute, New York, USA
Michael Orbach, Ph.D., Duke University, North Carolina, USA
Martin Willison, Ph.D., Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Charles Peterson, Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA
John Avise, Ph.D., University of Georgia, Georgia, USA
Karen Eckert, Ph.D., Wider Caribbean Sea Turtle Conservation Network, California, USA
Ratana Chuenpagdee, Ph.D., St. Francis Xavier University, Nova Scotia, Canada
James Powell, Ph.D., Wildlife Trust, Florida, USA
Richard Allen, M.M.A., Independent Fishery Conservationist, Rhode Island, USA
Gregory Stone, Ph.D., New England Aquarium, Massachusetts, USA
John Teal, Ph.D., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute, Massachusetts, USA
Robert Livingston, Ph.D., Florida State University, Florida, USA
Sally Murphy, M.Sc., South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, South Carolina, USA
Laurence D. Mee, Ph.D., University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
John Ogden, Ph.D., Florida Institute of Oceanography, Florida, USA
Michael Hirshfield, Ph.D., Oceana, Washington DC, USA
Allen Andrews, Ph.D., Moss Landing Marine Laboratories, California, USA
Amy Baco-Taylor, Ph.D. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts, USA
Asako Matsumoto, M.Sc., Japan Marine Science and Technology Center, Yokosuka, Japan
Daphne Pee, M.E.M., NOAA MPA Science Center, California, USA
Mark Costello, Ph.D., The Huntsman Marine Science Center, New Brunswick, Canada
William Schroeder, Ph.D., University of Alabama, Alabama, USA
Kevin Strychar, Ph.D., Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Tanya Leverette, M.Sc. candidate, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Kirsten Martin, M.Sc., IUCN, Gland, Switzerland
Onno Gross, Ph.D. Deepwave Inc., Hamburg, Germany
Nilima Lindmark, M.Sc. candidate, Goeteborg University, Stroemstad, Sweden
William Barnhill, M.E.M., Geo-Marine, Inc., Texas,USA
Bruce Wright, M.Sc., Conservation Science Institute, California, USA
Amy Rheault, M.Sc. candidate, Antioch New England Graduate School, Vermont, USA
Pablo J. Lopez-Gonzalez, Ph.D., University of Sevilla, Sevilla, Spain
R. Scott Carr, Ph.D., US Geological Survey, Texas, USA
Andrea Sayfy, M.E.S. candidate, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Peter Etnoyer, M.E.M., Scientific Consultant, California, USA
Owen Sherwood, Ph.D. candidate, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, Canada
Jim Silliman, Ph.D., Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
Hermann Ehrlich, Ph.D., Dresden University of Technology, Dresden, Germany
Robert George, Ph. D., George Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability, North Carolina, USA
Mark Hixon, Ph.D., Oregon State University, Oregon, USA
Carolyn Lundquist, Ph.D., National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, Hamilton, New Zealand 
Jennie Axén, M.Sc., Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
Walt Jaap, Ph.D., Florida Marine Research Institute & Lithophyte Research, Florida, USA
John Tunnell, Jr., Ph.D., Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, Texas, USA
Mona McCrea, M.Sc., Ecological Consultancy Service, Ltd., Dublin, Ireland  
David Boshier, D.Phil., University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Marcos Yukio Yoshinaga, M.Sc. candidate, Instituto Oceanografico - Universidade de Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil 
David W. Inouye, Ph.D., University of Maryland, Maryland, USA
Kelly Hooper, B.Sc., Florida Marine Research Institute, Florida, USA
John A. Cigliano, Ph.D., Cedar Crest College, Pennsylvania, USA
Nel Beaumont, Ph.D., Terramar Foundation, Nevis, St. Kitts and Nevis
Nicola Beynon, M.Sc., Humane Society International, Sydney, Australia
Arthur H. Kopelman, Ph.D., Coastal Research & Education Society of Long Island, New York, USA
Arlo H. Hemphill, M.Sc. candidate, NSU Oceanographic Center, Florida, USA
Joanna Stockill, M.Sc., University of Newcastle - Dove Marine Laboratory, Newcastle, UK
Helen Fox, Ph.D., Hawaii Institute for Marine Biology, Hawaii, USA
Yaniv Levy, M.Sc. candidate, Israeli Sea Turtle Rescue Center, Mikhmoret, Israel
Vivienne Skyrme, M.Sc., University of Wales-Bangor, Bangor, UK
Ali Massey, M.Sc., University of Wales-Bangor, Bangor, UK
Nicola Foster, M.Sc., University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
Frankie Hobro, M.Sc., University of Wales-Bangor, Bangor, UK
John F. Weishampel, Ph.D., University of Central Florida, Florida, US
Tracy Griffin, M.Sc., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Florida, USA
Barbara Whitman, M.Sc., Under the Sea Sealife Education Centre, Nevis, Saint Kitts and Nevis
Peter McCarthy, Ph.D., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Florida, USA
Susan Daniels, Ph.D. candidate, Virginia Tech, Virginia, USA
David Addison, M.Sc., Conservancy of Southwest Florida, Florida, USA
John R. Cannon, Ph.D., University of Maryland at College Park, Maryland, USA
Amy Marr, Ph.D. candidate, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada
Susanne Hauswaldt, M.S., University of South Carolina, South Carolina, USA
Daryl J. Anderson, Ph. D., Lindenwood University, Missouri, USA
Nicholas Graham, M.App.Sc., University of Newcastle, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK
Dan DiResta, Ph.D., University of Miami, Florida, USA
Aaron J. Adams, Ph.D., Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida, USA
Anthony R. Picciolo, Ph.D., National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Maryland, USA
Nick Polunin, Ph.D., Newcastle University School of Marine Science & Technology, Newcastle upon Tyne, England
David W. Thieltges, Ph.D. candidate, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Sylt, Germany
Sheila J. J. Heymans, Ph.D., Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada
Andrew Crowe, M.Res., University of York, York, UK
James Culter, M.Sc., Mote Marine Laboratory, Florida, USA
Jeffrey Levinton, Ph.D., Stony Brook University, New York, USA
Richard Zanre, M.Sc., Local Ocean Trust, Watamu, Kenya
Judith S. Weis, Ph.D., Rutgers University, New Jersey, USA
David Cassis, M.Sc. candidate, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada
Page V. Else, M.S., Sitka Conservation Society, Alaska, USA
Ellen Hines, Ph.D., San Francisco State University, California, USA
Gregory Jensen, Ph.D., University of Washington, Washington, USA
John C. Markham, Ph. D., Arch Cape Marine Laboratory, Oregon, USA
C. J. Beegle-Krause, Ph.D., NOAA/OR&R/HAZMAT, Washington, USA
Leandro Bugoni, M.Sc., Fundação Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Rio Grande, Brazil
Paul E. Hargraves, Ph.D., Graduate School of Oceanography, University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island, USA
Norman J. Quinn, Ph.D., Discovery Bay Marine Laboratory, St. Ann, Jamaica
Barbara L. Kojis, Ph.D., Division of Fish and Wildlife, St. Thomas, US Virgin Islands
Chad Allen, B.S., US Peace Corps, Florida, USA
Colette Wabnitz, M.Sc., Fisheries Centre, University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada
Robert Miller, M.Sc., University of Massachusetts Boston Biology Department, Massachusetts, USA
Jodi Stark, M.R.M. candidate, Simon Fraser University/Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, British Columbia, Canada
Lorelle Berkeley, M.Sc. candidate, University of Nebraska at Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Claudia Capitini, M.Sc., unaffiliated, Oregon, USA
Shannon Engberg, M.A., Omaha Zoo, Nebraska, USA
R. Jeyabaskaran, Ph.D., National Institute of Oceanography, Goa, India
Rosa Laucci, M.Sc., NOVA Southeastern University, Florida, USA
Bart Huzaimi, M.Sc. candidate, University of Malaya Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Robert Blyth, Ph.D. candidate, University of Wales-Bangor, Anglesey, UK
Hilmar Hinz, Dipl.Biol., School of Ocean Sciences, Menai Bridge, UK
Jane Williamson, Ph.D., Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Charlie Huveneers, Ph.D. candidate, Graduate School of the Environment / Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Laura Slater, M.Sc. candidate, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Alaska, USA
Regina Woodrom Luna, Ph.D. candidate, University of Hawaii, Hawaii, USA
Brad Agius, M.Sc., National Park Service, Maine, USA
Azhar Hussin, Ph.D., University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Bart De Wachter, Ph.D., Ecolas, Antwerp, Belgium
Claudio Richter, Ph.D., Center for Tropical Marine Ecology, Bremen, Germany
Vanessa-Sarah Salvo, Ph.D., DDIPTERIS, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
Caroline Turnbull, M.Sc., Joint Nature Conservation Committee, Peterborough, UK
Edna Stetzar, M.Sc., Department of Natural Resources, Delaware, USA
Lucie Oliver, M.Phil., University of Wales-Bangor, Menai Bridge, UK
Richard West, M.Sc., Environment Agency, Peterborough, UK
Adam Mellor, Ph.D., Queens University, Belfast, N.Ireland
Drew Ferrier, Ph.D., Hood College, Maryland, USA
Andrew J. Quaid, B.S., USGS, Florida Integrated Science Centers, Florida, USA
Alice Sparrow, M.Sc., Environment Agency, Peterborough, UK
Alan Duckworth, Ph.D., Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Florida, USA
Nuria Teixido Ullod, Ph.D., Alfred Wegener Institut, Bremerhaven, Germany
Ben Beardmore, M.R.M., Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
Lucie Maranda, Ph.D., University of Rhode Island, Rhode Island, USA
Simon Harding, Ph.D., Coral Cay Conservation, London, UK
Diana McHugh, M.R.M. candidate, Simon Frasier University, British Columbia, Canada
Peter Tung, B.Env.Sc., Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Chris Joseph, M.R.M. candidate, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
Renato Chemello, Ph.D., Università di Palermo, Palermo, Italy
Elizabeth Richardson, Ph.D., University of Wales-Bangor, Bangor, UK
Klaus Riede, Ph. D., Zoological Museum Koenig, Bonn, Germany
Nige Hussey, M.Sc., University of Wales-Bangor, Anglesey, UK
Jean-Luc Solandt, Ph.D., Marine Conservation Society, Ross on Wye, UK
Nina Barton, M.R.M. candidate, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
Robyn Appleton, M.R.M. candidate, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
James Armitage, M.Sc. candidate, Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
Alastair G. Hebard, M.Sc. candidate , Nova Southeastern University Oceanographic Center, Florida, USA
Timothy Rach, M.Sc., Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida, USA
Ramona C. de Graaf, M.Sc., University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada
Clinton Jenkins, Ph.D., Michigan State University, Michigan, USA
Ioanna Lepinioti, M.Sc., Mediterranean Association to Save the Sea Turtles, Athens, Greece
Nara Mehlenbacher, M.Sc., University of British Columbia, British Columbia, Canada
Sylvia Humble, M.R.M., Simon Fraser University, British Columbia, Canada
Robert Buttimor, M.Sc., EcoSurf, Halifax, Canada
Bob Prince, Ph.D., Dept Conservation and Land Management, Western Australia, Australia
Wesley Keller, M.S., University of West Florida, Florida, USA
Maarten Raes, Lic., Ghent University, Gent, Belgium
Michel Josef Kaiser, Ph.D. D.Sc., University of Wales-Bangor, Anglesey, UK
David J. Evans, B.S., Geo-Marine, Inc., Texas, USA
Claire Fletcher, M.Ocean., University of Southampton, Southampton, UK
Daniel Rodriquez, M.Sc., Auburn University, Alabama, USA
Fan Tsao, M.M.A., Marine Conservation Biology Institute, Washington state, USA
Lance Morgan, Ph.D., Marine Conservation Biology Institute, California, USA
Elliott Norse, Ph.D., Marine Conservation Biology Institute, Washington state, USA 

The following have signed a nearly identical version of the Scientists' Statement on Protecting the World's Deep-sea Coral and Sponge Ecosystems that is changed slightly here to reflect new information. They are currently reviewing this final version of the statement. Affiliations are for identification only, and do not imply endorsement by the signers' institutions. 

George Branch, Ph.D., University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Michael Risk, Ph.D., McMaster University, Ontario, Canada
Kristian Fauchald, Ph.D., Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, Washington DC, USA
Jarl-Ove Strömberg, Professor, Kristineberg Marine Biological Station, Fiskebäckskil, Sweden
Anson H. Hines, Ph.D., Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, Maryland, USA 


 
 
 
 



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