Dear Listers, I am in the process of gathering biological and oceanographic data to support the creation of marine reserves in a number of high seas enclaves in the Western Pacific. This data will be presented to the CBC at their experts meeting, to be held in Ottawa in October. The aim is to demonstrate fulfillment of the CBD criteria for the creation of high seas marine reserves in these areas. If you have access to any unpublished data, or data available only to a limited audience, that could help to justify the closure of these areas to fishing, I would be very grateful if you could get in touch. I am interested in all biological and oceanographic data relating directly to these areas, including quantitative and qualitative, and expect that information on migratory species, including cetaceans, will be of particular interest. Information relating directly to high seas areas is limited so anything and everything is likely to be of value when presenting the case to the CBD. The areas in question are: - The Northern New Guinea donut hole: area between the EEZs of Papua New Guinea, Palau and the Federated States of Micronesia. - The Western Pacific donut hole: area between the EEZs of the Federated States of Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Kiribati, Nauru, Marshall Islands, Vanuatu and Fiji (this is in fact 2 'donut holes'). - The area between the EEZs of French Polynesia, the Line Islands (Kiribati) and the Cook Islands. If you have any information that could be of use please get in touch at ekpartridge@gmail.com. Thanks, Eleanor Partridge