Operational Unit
Pelagic Zone & High-Seas Ecosystem Monitoring Team
Marine, Coastal & Aquatic Conservation
Unit Mandate
Mission & Operational Scope
Monitors the health and biodiversity of open-ocean pelagic ecosystems beyond national jurisdiction, tracking apex predator populations, plankton dynamics, and plastic pollution distribution across all major ocean basins.
Doctrine
BBNJ Agreement (High Seas Treaty) · OSPAR High-Seas Ecosystem Assessment Framework
Core Capabilities
Operational Capabilities
Pelagic species abundance surveys via acoustic and visual transects
Satellite tagging of tuna, sharks, billfish, and marine mammals
Plankton net sampling and zooplankton community analysis
High-seas plastic debris density mapping and source attribution
Oxygen minimum zone expansion monitoring
BBNJ treaty implementation support and high-seas MPA advocacy
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← Conservation Efforts DirectorateDivision II
Marine, Coastal & Aquatic Conservation