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DSCC Updates from the ISA Council | March 2026

Posted on March 6, 2026

Read about the latest development from Part I of the 31st Session of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council meeting (9 – 20 March 2026), taking place in Kingston, Jamaica.

19 March, 2026 | DSCC Closing ISA Press Release:

Read the DSCC’s closing press release for Part I of the ISA’s 31st Council session here. 

18 March, 2026 | Day 8 of ISA Council:

Interventions

  • Read our intervention on Draft Regulation 2 (Principles, approaches and policies) here.

17 March, 2026 | Day 7 of ISA Council:

Interventions

  • Read our intervention on a draft decision on potential implications and opportunities for the work of the International Seabed Authority of the operation of the new BBNJ Agreement here.

16 March, 2026 | Day 6 of ISA Council:

Interventions

  • Read our intervention on the Legal and Technical Commission’s report on the ISA inquiry into contractor obligations and compliance here.

12 March, 2026 | Day 4 of ISA Council:

Interventions

  • Read our intervention on Draft Regulation 48ter (Alt. 2) – Pilot Mining here.

11 March, 2026 | Day 3 of ISA Council:

Interventions

  • Read our intervention on Draft Regulation 63 (Incentives) here.
  • Read our intervention on Draft Regulation 64ter (Environmental Costs) and 64quat (Environmental cost royalties) here.

9 March, 2026 | Day 1 of ISA Council:

Interventions

  • Read our intervention on Agenda Item 11 (Outstanding Matters) here.

Open Letter

Read the DSCC’s open letter to the ISA Secretary-General regarding recent public statements on the Mining Code and moratorium. See here.

5 March, 2026 | DSCC Press Release:

Governments urged to adopt a moratorium as ISA faces deep-sea mining pressure

As governments meet from 9–20 March in Kingston, Jamaica for the International Seabed Authority’s (ISA) Council session, they confront a defining question for global ocean governance: will the ISA uphold its mandate to protect the common heritage of humankind or rush to open the deep ocean to an irreversibly damaging industry?

Read the media release.

 

4 March, 2026 | DSCC Press Briefing:

Ocean Governance at a Crossroads: DSCC Media and Policy Briefing #1

As part of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition’s “Deep-Sea Mining: What the World Needs to Know 2026 Media and Policy Briefing Series”, this first webinar sets the stage for a pivotal year in ocean governance.

Just days after this briefing, the International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council will convene in Kingston, Jamaica (March 9–20), where governments will debate the future of the deep ocean — including ongoing efforts to finalize a Mining Code and mounting tensions over potential unilateral mining. With pressure intensifying to industrialize the international seabed, and with legal and political fault lines widening, the governance framework for the ocean is at a crossroads.

This briefing unpacks what is at stake — legally, politically, and diplomatically — and why calls for a moratorium are growing worldwide. What this briefing covers:

  1. The threat of unilateral mining: What it means under international law, the risks it poses to multilateralism, and how governments are responding
  2. Deep-sea mining and the new High Seas Treaty: Why mining is incompatible with the objectives of the BBNJ Agreement
  3. What to expect at the March ISA Council meeting: The status of Mining Code negotiations, concerns around institutional neutrality, and key decisions facing governments
  4. Why a moratorium is the responsible and stabilizing path forward
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