Full page fax print - International Seabed Authority

drawn from the surrounding deep sea. However, inactive sites have received little
attention from biologists and more extensive sampling is required to establish that the
nature of their fauna. Mining will effectively eliminate the habitat formed by extinct
deposits, so it is important to confirm that they host only background deep-sea species.
Arguments for the conservation of vent species can be developed from the same
sources that have led to the present global interest in the preservation of biodiversity. In
addition, cutting edge biological science has become an important stakeholder in this
resource and millions of research dollars are annually directed to laboratory and field
studies of vent organisms. Vent biology, in its brief history, has made major
contributions to the development of basic models of life processes. Most recent editions
of university textbooks in biology and ecology now use examples from hydrothermal
vents to illustrate points on symbiosis, detoxification, adaptation to extreme conditions
and ecosystem function. The visually spectacular and extreme nature of vent
communities also makes them popular subjects for the science media and science
education sectors. Several of the world’s leading natural history museums feature new
exhibits on hydrothermal vents. While few of the novel species discovered at vents may
be edible or of any immediate material value, any one may hold a priceless message of
fundamental importance to basic science.
6.3 Development of guidelines and regulations
Any guidelines aimed at protection of vent species will require provision for sitespecific
issues such as whether mining will occur on active or inactive hydrothermal sites
and the geographic range of the affected vent species. Standard criteria used in
environmental assessment in other marine habitats will also have to be taken into
account. These include:
i) Characterisation of the type of disturbance – in particular the destruction of the
substratum and associated organisms, and the creation of particulate plumes that
could bury or stress organisms in areas directly adjacent to mining activities.
ii) Estimation of the percent loss of seafloor vent habitats – most vent fields include
several types of habitat that host different assemblages of organisms. Managing
the impact of mining on individual species will thus require specific information
on the fraction of individual types of habitat that remain undisturbed, as well as
an estimation of the total disturbance
iii) Identification of affected seafloor organisms – this information is critical to evaluating
the impact of mining activities on the survival of species. Species with a broad
geographic range are less likely to be endangered by mining, which is expected
to be very localised. On the other hand, sites containing species with restricted
112 International Seabed Authority