The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) is calling on world governments to urgently implement a recently ratified high seas treaty’s ambitious promises.
The ‘Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ agreement)’ officially passed the 60-ratification threshold on 19 September, unlocking its entry into force in January 2026.
“This is a historic achievement,” said Sian Owen, executive director of the DSCC. “Now governments must turn ambition into urgent action to protect our ocean from top to bottom, including its fragile, life-supporting deep sea.”
The treaty establishes binding obligations for states to apply high environmental standards across key global ocean governance bodies, including the International Seabed Authority and regional fisheries management organisations.
The DSCC warned that activities like deep-sea mining and bottom trawling directly threaten the treaty’s goals and must be urgently addressed.
“Commercial bottom trawling turns seamounts, biodiversity hotspots and vital ocean lifelines into rubble,” said Bronwen Golder, the DSCC’s Global Seamounts campaign director. “States must carry the ambition of the treaty through to RFMOs and fully protect seamounts from destructive fishing practices.”
Sofia Tsenikli, who leads the DSCC’s Deep-Sea Mining Moratorium Campaign, added:
“This dangerous industry is incompatible with the new treaty, as it threatens the health of one of Earth’s most vital ecosystems.”
The DSCC is now urging governments to dismantle siloed ocean governance, establish a moratorium on deep-sea mining and ensure science-based, coherent management.
“The deep sea is the beating heart of our planet,” said Owen. “Now is the time to protect it.”
