Areas of importance

The ocean is a large and interconnected place, making research a difficult task. Our primary tool for learning about the ocean is by mapping habitats, which has many advantages. It is relatively cheap and easy to collect data, and it provides a reliable estimate of biodiversity. A habitat classification helps to estimate species richness and prioritise areas for conservation.

However, there have been instances where habitat mapping hasn’t been sufficient to protect important ocean features. For this, we need more advanced ways to identify areas of ecological significance. 

Ecologically important areas are used in resource management and marine protection. The goal is to go beyond measuring the number and type of habitats to identify which areas are important to conserve based on nine considerations.

Such merits could be how unique the organisms within it are, their conservation status (whether they are threatened or endangered) or how much they are impacted by human activity.

This method provides a more holistic way to identify potential conservation areas. We go beyond the seafloor to consider the entire water column – from sediments to surface. This is achieved by combining all the known studies on an area and building a map of the area. Each type of data is represented as a separate layer, which are added together to achieve a final map in 3D.

Download the Department of Conservation infographic as a PDF.

Copyright: Department of Conservation