The Sargasso Sea is a high seas ecosystem located within the North Atlantic Subtropical Gyre. The floating Sargassum macroalgae for which it is named support a diverse and productive ocean ecosystem. The floating mats and windrows of Sargassum house distinct communities of animals including endemic species, and provide shelter, nursery areas and food for many others including juvenile turtles, fish, and birds. A decade ago, in 2012, the two million square mile core area of the Sargasso Sea was “described” by the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) as an Ecologically or Biologically Significant Marine Area (EBSA), having scored highly on six of the seven designated criteria. At the time it was the largest high seas EBSA to be so described. This paper reviews the scientific evidence supporting the finding that it meets the rigorous criteria for an EBSA and assesses whether there have been major changes in the decade since. It puts this in the context of the work of the Sargasso Sea Commission and the Hamilton Declaration Signatories to “conserve the Sargasso Sea for the benefit of present and future generations” and assesses the extent to which being an EBSA has assisted with these conservation efforts.

马尾藻海是位于北大西洋副热带环流内的公海生态系统。漂浮的马尾藻它被命名的大型藻类支持多样化和多产的海洋生态系统。S的浮垫和堆垛阿气拥有独特的动物群落，包括特有物种，并为许多其他动物（包括幼年海龟、鱼类和鸟类）提供庇护所、育苗区和食物。十年前，即 2012 年，马尾藻海 200 万平方英里的核心区域被《生物多样性公约》(CBD) 缔约方“描述”为具有生态或生物意义的海洋区域 (EBSA)，在七项指定标准中的六项。当时，它是如此描述的最大的公海 EBSA。本文回顾了支持这一发现的科学证据，即它符合 EBSA 的严格标准，并评估了此后十年是否发生了重大变化。