Does the identification of EBSAs stop at the countries national water boundaries?
The CBD scientific criteria and the methodologies developed for the identification of EBSAs can be applied both within and beyond national jurisdiction. The work of the Global Ocean Biodiversity Initiative, however, focuses on the open ocean and deep seas, areas that are in general legally known as the high seas (i.e. areas beyond national jurisdiction). That said, as the marine environment is very dynamic, many marine species are highly migratory and there are ecological connections between areass within and beyond national jurisdictions, it is very likely that some ecologically or biologically significant areas will cut across jurisdiction boundaries.
