Seabed mapping for selecting cold-water coral protection areas on Hatton Bank, Northeast Atlantic

Research into vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) on the high seas and the impacts of bottom fishing and ad hoc management measures are high priority today thanks to UN General Assembly Resolution 61/105. An interdisciplinary methodology (specifically designed for selecting cold-water coral protection areas) and a case study focused on the Hatton Bank (NE Atlantic) are presented. This interdisciplinary approach, developed under the ECOVUL/ARPA project, was based on conventional fisheries science, geomorphology, benthic ecology, and sedimentology. It contributes to de. ning practical criteria for identifying VMEs, to improving knowledge of their distribution off Europe's continental shelf, and to providing advice on negative fishing impacts and habitat protection. The approach was used to identify the bottom-trawl deep-sea fishery footprint on the western slope of Hatton Bank, to map the main fishing grounds and related deep-sea habitats (1000-1500 m deep), and to study the interactions between fisheries and cold-water corals. The results lead to a proposal to close the outcrop area (4645 km(2)) located on the western slope of Hatton Bank as a conservation measure for cold-water corals.