Shirley Pomponi and Joana Xavier attended the Common Oceans’ Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Bejond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) at the UN headquarters in New York. There, they presented SponGES’ results at a dedicated side event organised by FAO: Deep-sea sponges and other biodiversity in the ABNJ: advances in research and information, and implications for management.

Joana spoke about “Findings of the SponGES project and implications for the BBNJ process“, while Shirley gave a talk on the “Biotechnological potential of deep-sea sponges in the North Atlantic and implications for marine genetic resources“. The event, opened by a welcome speech by Arní Mathiesen, Assistant Director General at FAO, also featured a talk by Fred Kingston, NAFO’s Executive Secretary, dedicated to “ABNJ deep-sea biodiversity and the linkages with regional fisheries management and the BBNJ process”. A panel discussion with speakers and representatives from NGOs and IGOs successfully closed the session.