The Cabinet has approved three experts to the Sargasso Sea Commission as efforts to protect the region continue to develop.

Ana Colaço, a deep-sea ecologist at the University of the Azores, will remain on the board for a second three-year term.

Dr Colaço will be joined by Frank Muller-Karger, a professor at the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida, and David Johnson, a director of Seascape Consultants Ltd.

Walter Roban, the Minister of Home Affairs, said: “The ecology of the offshore Sargasso Sea and Bermuda’s inshore waters are fundamentally connected.

“I am excited to support the continued work of the commission in its efforts to conserve this iconic area, which supports the migration routes of animals throughout the Atlantic basin.

“These new commissioner appointments have the scientific and diplomatic expertise necessary to acts as excellent stewards of the Sargasso Sea.”

David Freestone, executive secretary of the SSC, said that the body was now entering a “strategic planning phase”.

“In early 2025, we will complete a socio-ecosystem diagnostic analysis of the Sargasso Sea, laying out its ecological importance and the pressures it faces from human activity,” Dr Freestone said.

“This SEDA will give rise to a strategic action programme for its conservation, which will be agreed by the signatories to the Hamilton Declaration, Sargasso Sea commissioners and other stakeholders.”

Bermuda has led the Sargasso Sea initiative since 2010 and was one of the original signatories of the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea.

As set out in the declaration, the Government of Bermuda is responsible for the appointment of scientific expert commissioners, who collaborate with signatory governments to “exercise a stewardship role for the Sargasso Sea and keep its health, productivity and resilience under continual review”.

In addition to her work with the SSC, Dr Colaço has served as chief scientist on numerous oceanographic cruises and managed many scientific projects related to hydrothermal vent ecosystems, biodiversity and conservation.

Dr Muller-Karger has studied connectivity between the surface ocean, coastal areas and ocean margins, and the deep ocean, with particular focus on the relationship between surface ocean processes and the ocean bottom of the Sargasso Sea.

An SSC spokesman said: “He has also been involved in the implementation of Marine Biodiversity Observation Network and in the leadership of the Marine Life 2030 Programme endorsed by the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development.

“His in-depth scientific knowledge of the region and his specific interest in co-ordination of biodiversity observations on the high seas will be a great asset to the commission.”

Regarding Dr Johnson, the SSC highlighted his experience advising on ocean policy and public affairs.

“Dr Johnson has been involved in Convention on Biological Diversity processes as well as the negotiations of a new legally binding instrument for biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction,” the spokesman said.

“The commission will benefit from his in-depth knowledge of marine resource management and experience in international diplomacy for the high seas.”