The Regional Activity Centre for Specially Protected Areas (UNEP-MAP-RAC/SPA), with support from the European Commission and the Mediterranean Trust Funds, started in 2008 an ambitious project to identify and establish Marine Protected Areas in the open seas, including the deep seas, in order to promote the establishment of a representative ecological network of protected areas in the Mediterranean. The first phase of the project was based on the provisions of the Protocol concerning Specially Protected Areas and Biological Diversity in the Mediterranean (SPA/BD Protocol) and was completed at the end of 2009. Its main result was the identification of twelve areas as priority conservation areas in the open seas, including the deep seas, likely to include sites that could be candidates for inclusion in the SPAMI list. One of these areas is the so-called Gulf of Lions shelf and slope area (Figure 1). [...]

This document has been prepared in the framework of the project for supporting the establishment of MPAs in open seas, including deep seas, with financial support of the European Commission

64 pages, 13 figures, 1 table

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