TL: The Atlantic Frontier: a wilderness in the ocean depths
SO: GREENPEACE UK, (GP)
DT: 1997

 'Roll on, thou dark and blue ocean, roll'

 Oceans cover 70 per cent of the world's surface and are essential to the
 health of the planet, intrinsically linked to weather, the air and the
 land. The ocean depths are one of the last true wildernesses and part of
 the global commons.

 The Nature of the Atlantic Frontier area

 Not far from the north west coast of Scotland, in the Atlantic Ocean,
 lies the area known as the Atlantic Frontier. Britain's Atlantic
 Frontier is its last great wilderness. This is the area the oil industry
 and the UK Government want to 'develop'. The Atlantic Frontier is a part
 of the global commons which Britain need not and should not develop. It
 is the richest habitat in Europe for whales and dolphins and of
 international importance for many breeding seabirds.

 From the continental shelf, some 120 miles offshore, the ocean plunges
 from 200 metres to depths of over 1,500 metres. Further south, the
 Rockall Trough is over 4,000 metres deep in places.

 No light penetrates these depths and the pressure can be several hundred
 times that at the surface. Water temperatures are low and very constant,
 responding little to the seasons.

 If the ocean was drawn off, to expose the seabed, a rugged and imposing
 scene would be revealed, with steep continental slopes, flat abyssal
 plains, sheer-sided trenches and dramatic submerged mountains.

 The Atlantic Frontier is where the ocean currents of the cold Arctic and
 the warm Gulf Stream meet and flow over one another, warm above cold.
 This, together with ocean winds and the extraordinary underwater
 topography, creates a sea with mountainous waves and a reputation as one
 of the most hostile on the planet. It also creates conditions for an
 immense diversity of sea life: almost ten times more species are known
 to live in the depths than exist in shallow waters.

 There are many more species still to be discovered. In 1992 scientists
 Grassle and Maciolek estimated that the deep sea could harbour at least
 10 million species that have not yet been described and named - a
 diversity roughly comparable to that of tropical rainforests.

 Whales

 'The waters, like the land, are covered by a network of paths and
 highways. Every species of life in the oceans has its route, and there
 are routes for every season. Nothing in this elaborate web of traffic
 has been left to chance. It has all been worked out in detail.' Jacques
 Cousteau, The Whale, Mighty Monarch of the Sea.

 A remarkable 22 species of whales and dolphins have been found in these
 waters, some just a few miles from the coast of Scotland.

 Sensitive hydrophones, once used by the US Navy to locate enemy
 submarines, have recently discovered that blue and fin whales are in the
 Atlantic Frontier region all year round, with humpbacks there from
 mid-autumn to early spring. A two hour accoustic 'snapshot' during the
 summer of 1996 detected as many as fourteen individual blue whales in
 the area.

 The Atlantic Frontier, was described by the researchers using the US
 Navy hydrophone system as a 'motorway for whales'. For some of the
 larger whales the Atlantic Frontier is a migration route, along which
 they navigate, probably not even stopping to feed. For many of the
 smaller species of whales, the Atlantic Frontier is home all year round,
 giving them somewhere to feed and breed.

 Dolphins

 Risso's dolphin, distinctive for the scratch-like markings on its skin,
 is known to inhabit this area of deep ocean, particularly around the
 steep underwater slopes. Bottlenose and white-beaked dolphins also live
 here, and the Northern Isles are probably the most important region in
 Britain for the small harbour porpoise.

 Life in the ocean depths

 An entirely new world opens up in the ocean depths. Although little is
 known about exactly what lives here, scientists have discovered more
 than 200 species of fish, as well as deep water squid, starfish,
 sponges, sea cucumbers and sea urchins - all adapted to this dark
 environment.

 Cold water coral grows on the slope off the edge of the continental
 shelf as well as in the ocean depths, and is thought to provide a home
 for as many as 300 species of deep sea creatures.

 Deep-sea fish

 Ancient, deep water fish living at these depths have adapted from the
 shallower waters over long periods of time. Some, like the roundnose
 grenadier and the hatchetfish are long-lost relatives of the cod or
 salmon families: others look like nothing else that exists on the
 planet.

 Unlike shallow-water species, deep-sea fish do not have slimy skins, and
 they often have large, armoured scales. Some have no swim bladder and
 many have large heads and oddly-shaped bodies. All deep-sea fish die
 when brought to the surface, even if they are returned to the water
 immediately.

 The orange roughy, which inhabits the waters of the Atlantic Frontier,
 is thought to be among the longest-living creatures on earth. Scientists
 have calculated it can live up to 150 years, and it has been described
 as "a bit of a biological dinosaur". Young roughies do not breed until
 they reach around 25 years, and only then if there is enough food.

 At 600 metres below the sea's surface, the quality of light is similar
 to starlight. At around 800 metres and below, there is total blackness.
 The roughhead grenadier has evolved huge eyes to compensate for the lack
 of light in its surroundings. About 80 per cent of species in the depths
 have the ability to produce light. Sometimes this can be used to locate
 food, sometimes to lure other creatures, to signal a mate or perhaps to
 frighten, distract or decoy a determined predator.

 The hatchetfish, the lanternfish and certain squids are able to
 fine-tune the level of blueness they emit in response to changing levels
 of illumination from the surface, to reduce the risk of their
 silhouettes being spotted by predators.

 One of the many creatures living in these waters which defies scientific
 understanding is the hatchetfish. It has large, tubular eyes, directed
 upwards, and an array of gleaming light organs which shine blue light
 downwards. Why it has evolved in such a way that it points a 'torch'
 down while looking up, as it moves forwards, has never properly been
 understood.

 Atlantic Frontier birdlife

 The area around the Atlantic Frontier is internationally important for
 its enormous number of bird species, which rely on the ocean depths for
 their food. It is home to ten per cent of the world's populations of:
 puffins, gannets, razorbills, guillemots and great skuas.

 Fulmars are the most abundant breeding species in the region: the cliffs
 on Hoy on Orkney support 40,000 pairs.

 Gannets - large, majestic birds - breed in densely packed 'gannetries'
 on sea cliffs and islands, some of which have tens of thousands of
 nests. St Kilda, designated a World Heritage Site (along with the Grand
 Canyon and the Great Barrier Reef), has the world's largest gannetry,
 with over 60,000 breeding pairs.

 The largest colony of Manx shearwaters in the world is on Rhum, in the
 inner Hebrides. Like the storm petrel and Leach's petrel, which also
 breed in the area, the Manx shearwater only comes ashore at night,
 choosing to nest in burrows on remote and often inaccessible islands and
 stacks.

 Coastal wildlife

 The British shores are the most important breeding sites in the world
 for atlantic grey seals. Aound 10,000 seals gather on the Monach Isles,
 in the Outer Hebrides, each year to give birth to 5,000 seal pups.

 A survey of otters in Scotland, carried out between 1991 and 1994 found
 that populations are increasing, with signs of otters found at 88
 percent of sites that were surveyed.

 Cultures of the sea

 The Northern and Western Isles have a sea-borne history that goes back
 thousands of years. The isles of Shetland, the furthest north of the
 isles, were once inhabited by the Celts and later invaded by the
 Norsemen, who left an indelible print of their culture and customs on
 the area.

 Because the sea has always been a central part of life on these islands
 - primarily as a provider of food - folklore, rites and rituals and even
 a form of language with a rich vocabulary have grown up around the sea
 and the creatures inhabiting it.

 Threats to the Atlantic Frontier

 A look at the industrial landscape of the North Sea shows what could be
 in store for the Atlantic Frontier. Deep ocean ecosystems are highly
 susceptible to the effects of exploitation, and, if they recover at all,
 recover much more slowly than many other ecosystems. The Atlantic
 Frontier faces exploitation by both the oil industry and the deep-sea
 fishing industry. The industrial development of this area shows that
 Britain is not committed to sustainable development.

 Oil exploration and production will bring many threats to this
 wilderness area. In the Atlantic Frontier oil development, new drilling
 technology will be tested in very deep water and extremely stormy
 conditions. If it works here, it will open the door to similar
 exploitation in other regions, such as the Arctic.

 Oil exploration

 The planet is threatened by climate change. This is agreed by
 scientists. Climate change is caused by carbon from the burning of
 fossil fuels - oil, coal and gas. The fossil fuels already available to
 humans contain more than enough carbon to endanger the global climate.
 Yet the UK Government is encouraging the search for more oil - in the
 Atlantic Frontier.

 The fishing industry

 As conventional fish stocks are depleted, there has been a "gold rush"
 policy to exploit the species of the ocean depths. The Government has
 ignored warnings from some deep-water specialists that these fish are
 very vulnerable to exploitation.

 Protecting the ocean depths

 Greenpeace is campaigning to stop the oil industry's expansion into the
 Atlantic Frontier. It calls on the UK Government to halt the Atlantic
 Frontier development and start the shift to a genuinely sane energy
 path, phasing out fossil fuel use and bringing in alternatives such as
 solar, wind and energy efficiency. The Atlantic Frontier is a wilderness
 area whose beauty should be preserved for the benefit of all.

 A more detailed report on the Atlantic Frontier development, 'Putting a
 Lid on Fossil Fuels; Why the Atlantic should be a Frontier Against Oil
 Development' is available from Greenpeace UK. Greenpeace UK, Canonbury
 Villas, London N1 2PN