Information from emerging scientific findings on Northeast Pacific Seamounts: reviewing other relevant VME indicator taxa, in addition to the existing coral taxa

Hydrocorals and Sponges (Stylasteridae and Porifera) provide important ecological functions and services alike other structure-forming seafloor animals, such as Soft, Black, and Stoney Corals (Alcyonacea, Antipatharia, and Scleractina). These two groups (taxa) are globally distributed within the deep sea and occur in high abundances on seamounts and other rocky features. They are regarded by many international and national agencies as vulnerable marine ecosystem (VME) indicator taxa or equivalent and are considerations to be added to the first iteration of the VME indicator list for the North Pacific Fisheries Commission (NPFC). New information from emerging scientific findings from within and adjacent to the NPFC Convention Area locally demonstrate the previously mentioned global generalizations for the two taxa, as well as advancing our understanding of their spatial distributions and vulnerabilities to human activities. Two prominent spatial patterns strongly suggest that by not including Hydrocorals and Sponges, the NPFC is at risk of missing VMEs to be protected: i) the higher density clusters of sponges and corals are primarily single taxa dominated and 2) spatially separated by distinct biogeographic or depth distributions. In addition, evidence of the low catchability of these two taxa demonstrates the historic bias in using fisheries data in their assessment. Therefore, spatially identifying VMEs based on the existing NPFC list will expectedly miss protecting high-density aggregations of ecologically important Hydrocoral- and Sponge-dominated ecosystems on seamounts within the Convention Area.