Particularly Sensitive Sea Area
A Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA Particularly Sensitive Sea Area ) is a sea area , which by the International Maritime Organization has been asked (IMO) under protection.
criteria
An area can be designated as a PSSA on the basis of an extensive catalog of criteria, including a unique or rare ecosystem , special risk from human interference, social criteria such as a high recreational value or scientific criteria such as its importance for research or a high historical value.
Protective measures
If an area is designated as a PSSA, various protective measures apply; this can range from a pilot requirement and strict MARPOL requirements to being blocked for certain types of ships or the relocation of certain types of ships to less endangered routes. Individual particularly endangered areas can be closed for some ship classes or even for all shipping traffic.
List of PSSAs
The IMO has placed a total of 15 sea areas under protection worldwide, including the Wadden Sea of the North Sea and the western part of the Baltic Sea . The sea areas are in detail:
- Great Barrier Reef (1990); Extension to Torres Strait (2005); Extension to the south-western part of the Coral Sea (2015)
- Sabana Camagüey Archipelago (1997)
- Malpelo (2002)
- the ocean around the Florida Keys (2002)
- the Wadden Sea of the North Sea (2002)
- Paracas National Reserve (2003)
- Western European waters: British, French and Belgian North Sea coasts (2004)
- the sea around the Canaries (2005)
- Galápagos (2005)
- the Baltic Sea (except for the Russian part) (2005)
- Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (2007)
- the Strait of Bonifacio (2011)
- Saba Bank National Park (2012)
- the Jomard Passage (2016)
- Tubbataha Reefs Natural Park in the Sulu Sea (2017)
literature
- Markus Kachel: Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas - The IMO's role in protecting vulnerable marine area , Springer Verlag 2008, ISBN 978-3-540-78778-5 .
Web links
- Particularly Sensitive Sea Areas at the International Maritime Organization (English)