Team at the UN Bottom Fisheries workshop. From left to right: Matthew Gianni (DSCC), Amy Irvine (Oceans North), Dr Gabrielle Carmine (Georgetown University), Katie Schleit (Oceans North), Kat Goddard (Greenpeace New Zeland), Dr Amy Baco-Taylor (Florida State University), Ingrid Benschikova (Pew), Eunhee Kim (CORI); Sebastian Losada (Greenpeace International), Rae McKinney (NRDC).

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.

A large piece of Paragorgia coral is hauled aboard the New Zealand bottom trawler, Waipori. © Greenpeace | Malcolm Pullman

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.

Satellite image of Madeira by the Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite

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.

© Greenpeace | Malcolm Pullman

The New Zealand Parliament is considering several short-sighted amendments to the National Fisheries Act 1996 that would expand industry influence over fisheries management, bypass vital public oversight and undermine ocean protection goals.

Photo credit: JC094, Lissette Victorero

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.

As global ocean pressures grow the upcoming IUCN World Conservation Congress in Abu Dhabi marks a critical moment for deep-sea protection. Ocean governance experts Cymie Payne and Matthew Gianni share their perspectives on the IUCN motion process and why two upcoming motions deserve special attention.