Follow along with the latest developments from the ISA Council and Assembly here.
Amidst the global momentum for ocean protection recently showcased at the Third United Nations Ocean Conference, 37 countries now support a pause, moratorium, or ban on deep-sea mining.
They are joined by hundreds of scientists, civil society, major financial institutions, global businesses, Indigenous leaders, UN human rights experts, and millions of people globally, all united in warning that irreversible destruction of deep-sea ecosystems cannot be justified.
Scientific evidence clearly shows that deep-sea mining could both cause permanent damage to fragile ecosystems and biodiversity that play a vital role in climate regulation, and interfere with fisheries (both industrial and small-scale). By disrupting ecosystems that ocean communities depend on, deep-sea mining could create new forms of inequality and extractive harm, disproportionately affecting those least responsible for environmental degradation.
Read our deep-sea mining factsheets
The upcoming Part II of the 30th Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), which includes the ISA Council meeting (7 – 18 July) and ISA Assembly meeting (21 – 25 July), will be the next critical crossroads for the deep ocean and the future of ocean governance. However, the ISA and some States are attempting to rush the adoption of regulations this year, all to appease one rogue mining company that is actively and knowingly attempting to undermine the multilateral system meant to make decisions regarding seabed activities and protect the environment from harm. By accelerating the approval of a deeply flawed and incomplete mining code (despite growing global opposition to deep-sea mining), the ISA risks ignoring scientific evidence, the precautionary principle, the rapidly growing momentum calling for a pause, and the very foundations of responsible ocean stewardship.
The DSCC urges ISA Members not to yield to industry pressures or unilateral actions, but to ensure adequate protection of the deep sea and its ecosystem services, consistent with their obligations under United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and other international agreements, including the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), by adopting a moratorium on deep-sea mining.
Follow along with the latest developments from the ISA Council here.
The public can support our call by urging their political leaders to stand up and support a moratorium on deep-sea mining before it’s too late through defendthedeep.org