The SARGADOM project collaborated with the World Maritime University WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute (GOI) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to host a workshop in November 13-15, 2023, in Costa Rica on Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas (PSSA) on the High Seas. The workshop was delivered in partnership with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and in collaboration with the Sargasso Sea Commission and MarViva.
IMO has a mandate to designate PSSAs – although so far none have been on the High Seas beyond 200nm. PSSA designation is a tool to reduce the impacts of international shipping on an area that is deemed to have cultural, ecological, or scientific importance.
The workshop developed technical knowledge of the criteria for PSSA designation, the procedures for making applications for such designations and recent practice in such designations and their Associated Protection Measures (APMs).
The workshop examined the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea, two sites representative of the diversity and importance of high seas ecosystems that are facing significant challenges posed by international shipping. Over 40 participants from governmental authorities, academia, and non-governmental institutions from 18 different countries bordering or having an interest in the protection of the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea attended the workshop, as well as from the Central American Maritime Transport Commission (COCATRAM).
The workshop developed technical knowledge of the various measures taken by IMO to address the threats posed by international shipping, particularly regarding the process of preparing and submitting a PSSA proposal to the IMO. The workshop examined the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea, two sites representative of the diversity and importance of High Seas ecosystems that are facing significant challenges posed by international shipping. Over 40 participants from governmental authorities, academia, and non-governmental institutions from 18 different countries bordering or having an interest in the protection of the Thermal Dome and the Sargasso Sea attended the workshop, as well as from the Central American Maritime Transport Commission (COCATRAM).
