As the European Commission shapes its new Ocean Act, we have an opportunity to turn commitments into real action to defend the deep. With biodiversity loss accelerating, the climate crisis intensifying and industrial pressure on the deep sea growing, from bottom trawling to deep-sea mining and geoengineering, the Act must go beyond words and deliver in practice. The DSCC has submitted recommendations urging that precaution, coherence, and implementation sit at the heart of the 2026 Act, a key deliverable of the European Ocean Pact launched at the 2025 UN Ocean Conference in Nice.
Deliver on existing EU law to defend the deep
The Commission already has legal tools to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), including seamounts, our ocean’s lifelines, under the Deep-Sea Access Regulation (DSAR). Initial closures in 2022 were based on the best available science from the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES), and the European Court of Justice (ECJ) upheld their legality in 2025. However, implementation is stalling. Annual reviews of VME closures have been abandoned and without proper implementation, protections remain theoretical. Looking forward to implementing a sound and credible Ocean Act, the European Commission and EU member States must ensure:
- Full and comprehensive implementation of DSAR
- Timely implementation of ICES advice for new closures
- Robust monitoring, transparency and accountability mechanisms.
The Ocean Act must also align EU ocean governance with best available science and the precautionary approach, particularly where uncertainty exists. Current gaps between biodiversity and climate commitments and fisheries practices, especially bottom-contact fishing, must be addressed to ensure the EU supports a healthy ocean and climate for future generations.
End deep-sea bottom trawling to protect climate and ocean health
Bottom trawling in the deep sea not only devastates fragile ecosystems and ancient, complex webs of life, it also releases stored carbon, making it a significant climate threat and directly at odds with the EU’s climate objectives.
In 2025, IUCN members overwhelmingly called for a global phase-out of bottom trawling on VMEs by 2026. The Ocean Act offers the EU a chance to lead, phasing out bottom trawling on VMEs, including seamounts, hydrothermal vents, and cold-water corals. Closures should start with VMEs in EU waters, and all marine protected areas (MPAs), including the heavily impacted Mediterranean basin.
Uphold a precautionary pause on deep-sea mining.
Under UNCLOS, the EU must prevent harm to the marine environment. Deep-sea mining poses irreversible risks including biodiversity loss, ecosystem degradation, pollution, and potential damage to carbon sequestration. The Ocean Act should reaffirm recommendations for a moratorium on deep-sea mining in EU waters.
Protect the twilight zone
Mesopelagic or ‘twilight zone’ ecosystems are critical for carbon cycling, marine food webs, and global ocean health, yet they face growing threats from illegal fishing, climate change, and industrial activity. The Ocean Act must:
- Apply the precautionary approach to any activity affecting this zone, in line with IUCN Motion 035
- Support marine protected areas that preserve mesopelagic structure and function
- Strengthen research, monitoring and environmental assessments
Ensure caution in the face of marine carbon dioxide removal
As the climate crisis intensifies, governments, industry, and scientists are increasingly looking to the ocean for solutions. Several ocean-based climate interventions using geoengineering technologies to remove CO₂ are advancing rapidly, often ahead of governance. The deep sea cannot become a testing ground for unproven technologies. The Ocean Act must ensure that marine carbon dioxide removal:
- Is subject to rigorous independent and transparent research
- Requires comprehensive environmental impact assessments under integrated governance and monitoring
- Does not divert attention from urgent decarbonization efforts
The EU has committed to safeguard ocean health and tackle the climate crisis. The Ocean Act is its chance to turn these promises into real action through strong implementation, policy coherence, and precaution, and help to ensure a thriving deep sea and a resilient planet for generations to come.