Several fish species that have been adversely affected by fishing in the Atlantic are now on the OSPAR list of threatened and declining species (see full list in Table 1). These include the spurdog (Squallus acanthias), the common skate complex (Dipturus spp.), porbeagle (Lamna nasus), and some deep-water sharks. Although there are either zero TACs for these species, or they are listed as prohibited, several of them remain vulnerable to existing fisheries.
Table 1
OSPAR-listed threatened and declining species and habitats that occur in the Azores ecoregion.
| Scientific name | Common name |
| Invertebrates | |
| Megabalanus azoricus | Azorean barnacle |
| Patella ulyssiponensis aspera | Azorean limpet |
| Birds | |
| Puffinus assimilis baroli (auct.incert.) | Little shearwater |
| Sterna dougallii | Roseate tern |
| Rissa tridactyla | Black-legged kittiwake |
| Puffinus mauretanicus | Balearic shearwater |
| Fish | |
| Centroscymnus coelolepis | Portuguese dogfish |
| Centrophorus granulosus | Gulper shark |
| Centrophorus squamosus | Leafscale gulper shark |
| Cetorhinus maximus | Basking shark |
| Dipturus batis (synonym: Raja batis) | Common skate |
| Hippocampus guttulatus (synonym: Hippocampus ramulosus) | Long-snouted seahorse |
| Hippocampus hippocampus | Short-snouted seahorse |
| Hoplostethus atlanticus | Orange roughy |
| Lamna nasus | Porbeagle |
| Squalus acanthias | [Northeast Atlantic] spurdog |
| Thunnus thynnus | Bluefin tuna |
| Reptiles | |
| Caretta caretta | Loggerhead turtle |
| Dermochelys coriacea | Leatherback turtle |
| Mammals | |
| Balaenoptera musculus | Blue whale |
| Eubalaena glacialis | Northern right whale |
Threatened and declining habitats in the Azorean ecoregion
Table 2
Threatened and declining habitats in the Azores ecoregion according to OSPAR.
| Habitats |
| Coral gardens |
| Deep-sea sponge aggregations |
| Lophelia pertusa reefs |
| Oceanic ridges with hydrothermal vents/fields |
Seamounts
|
