In Bermuda, governments agree to work together to conserve ecologically rich Sargasso Sea

HAMILTON, Bermuda – The U.S., Britain, Monaco and the Azores have joined Bermuda in signing a non-binding declaration to collaborate on conservation of the Sargasso Sea, the ecologically rich waters in the mid-Atlantic.

The British territory of Bermuda is the only island within the Sargasso Sea, a 2 million-square-mile (3 million-square-kilometer) body of warm water in the Atlantic that is a major habitat and nursery for numerous marine species that migrate widely, such as eels.

Premier Craig Cannonier says Bermuda believes it is "our responsibility to lead the stewardship of this unique marine ecosystem."

Conservationists have lobbied Bermuda to create a vast reserve that they say would safeguard significant parts of the Sargasso Sea, known for its brownish Sargassum seaweed.