The Oceanic Northeast Atlantic ecoregion consists of the portion of the ICES Area that is beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), i.e. outside the 200 mile limit of the exclusive economic zones (EEZs) of the EU Member States, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland.
The ecoregion is mostly deeper than 1000 m, with only a small fraction of the seabed (ca. 0.03%) shallower than 500 m. The area comprises mostly extensive abyssal plains, with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR), many seamounts, and the Rockall–Hatton Plateau rising above the abyssal plain.
This ecoregion is entirely oceanic, and differs from all other ecoregions by being distant from land; as a consequence, it is much less influenced by coastal and terrestrial processes. A number of claims are made on the parts of the continental shelf that extend into the ecoregion from adjacent EEZs. Alongside the exploitation rights, such claims carry responsibility to protect the seabed and its habitats.
Key signals
Human activities and their pressures
- Few human activities occur within the ecoregion compared to adjacent ecoregions. Shipping is the most widespread, while fishing is relatively limited in spatial extent and frequency
- Marine litter is currently the prevailing direct pressure resulting from human activities in both the ecoregion and adjacent areas and affects all ecosystem components.
- Collateral mortality mainly results from fishing and shipping activities and primarily affects the upper trophic levels, i.e. fish, marine turtles, seabirds, and marine mammals.
State of the ecosystem
- The ecoregion is characterized by rich and diverse benthic communities, including several unique and protected vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) that contribute to world heritage and biodiversity.
- Topographic features are important aggregation areas for fish, seabirds, and marine mammals
- A positive trend in chlorophyll a concentration was observed over the past two decades, suggesting a sustained increased in phytoplankton activity.
- The status of most commercially harvested deep-sea fish stocks remains uncertain.
- The ecoregion is a hotspot for foraging, migrating, and wintering seabirds. Many breeding seabird species in the North Atlantic appear to be declining.
Climate change
- The peak in net primary production is projected to occur earlier in the year in the North Atlantic, with shifts in magnitude the result of climate-driven changes.
- Climate change is projected to result in opposite patterns of phytoplankton biomass in different parts of the ecoregion: increase in the north and decrease in the south.
- An unprecedented marine heatwave occurred in the ecoregion during summer 2023, which contributed to record high global mean temperatures that year. Such events are projected to increase in frequency in the future.
Environmental and socio-economic context
- The ecoregion provides global-scale ecosystem services such as climate regulation and carbon cycling that are critical to human health and well-being.
- The ecoregion plays an important role in connecting human societies via global shipping, transport, and telecommunication infrastructures, and it contributes to food provision through high seas fisheries.
