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For the first time in its history, Trinidad and Tobago's deep sea and adjacent high seas areas were explored by a team led by Caribbeanscientists. Two young scientists onboard, share what a month at sea actually looked like from their side of the boat.
Before the ROV SuBastian of the Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel ever touched the deep waters of Trinidad and Tobago, Shauna Edghill was in classrooms and TV studios telling her country that most of its territory is underwater and almost entirely unexplored. This is what came next: ship-to-shore livestreams, late nights collecting and preserving deep-sea specimens, and a team that became family.
Kyle Foster spent a month at sea aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor (too), exploring the deep waters of Trinidad and Tobago, split between two extremes of deep-sea technology, a multi-million-dollar ROV and a hand-deployable camera built for a fraction of the cost, and helped push the low-cost option to its deepest run yet: 2,240 metres.
Governments concluded three weeks of negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) with the only substantive decision being to expand the rights of mining contractors, highlighting the Authority’s misaligned priorities when the future of the deep sea is at stake
Governments concluded two weeks of negotiations today at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council with the case for a moratorium on deep-sea mining even stronger than when they arrived. Over the course of the meeting, governments heard the ISA’s own experts highlight immense scientific uncertainty, confirmed that the contractor non-compliance inquiry will continue, and continued negotiating a Mining Code and wider governance framework that remains far from complete and remains inadequate to protect the marine environment and uphold equity.
Scientific evidence presented at last week’s UN Bottom Fisheries Workshop (13-14 July, New York) shows that existing measures have not prevented ongoing damage to seamounts and other vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems. The findings reinforce the DSCC’s call for governments to lock in a firm 2027 deadline to end bottom trawling on high seas seamounts.
Leading scientists, policymakers and civil society organizations will gather from 13-14 July for a critical UN workshop that could determine the future of more than 21% of the world's seabed. As part of the 2026 UN Bottom Fisheries Review, the workshop will evaluate how governments and regional fisheries management organisations (RFMOs) are implementing United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolutions to protect seamounts from destructive fishing practices.
Governments arrive in Kingston, Jamaica this week for the International Seabed Authority’s (ISA) Council and Assembly as international law and the future of the deep sea come under increasing pressure. The Metals Company (TMC) is attempting to unilaterally mine the international seabed through US domestic law, a move widely considered illegal under international law, even as 43 countries, including for the first time three African nations, have lined up behind a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining.
Portugal announced the D. Carlos I Marine Natural Reserve at the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Kenya, now being finalized with Madeira. Covering 173,000 square km, it will include the Gorringe Bank, the Madeira–Torre geological complex, and the Josephine seamount complex — a continental shelf area beyond 200 nautical miles currently regulated by NEAFC.
In 2026, the DSCC will host a media and policy webinar series designed to equip journalists, governments, civil society and decision-makers with the facts, evidence, and context needed to navigate the deep-sea mining debate, and to cut through industry hype and misinformation.