Civil groups expressed dismay as the 30th International Seabed Authority (ISA) session recently ended in Jamaica without a moratorium on deep-sea mining, a process of extracting minerals from the seafloor, which experts say can damage marine ecosystems.
The ISA Council finished the second reading of the draft regulations for the commercial exploitation of deep-sea minerals. However, the Earth Negotiations Bulletin of the International Institute for Sustainable Development noted that many parts of the text still require further negotiations.
The bulletin said some member states wanted to finalize regulations, claiming that delays create uncertainty amid possibilities of deep-sea mining outside the ISA framework, which The Metals Company (TMC) the U.S. government is reportedly attempting. Countries like Germany, Greece and Ireland say they want to first have a better scientific understanding of the risks of deep-sea mining, a general policy for marine environmental protection or a long-overdue periodic review to account for changes in ocean governance and trends.
Working groups will continue discussions on the draft mining code until the ISA’s next session in 2026.
“With dozens of unresolved issues in the International Seabed Authority’s draft deep-sea mining regulations, the ISA still has significant work ahead before any rules can be completed,” Julian Jackson, The Pew Charitable Trusts project director, said in an email to Mongabay.
Jackson said the ISA should listen to “a growing wave of governments, businesses, scientists, organizations, and communities worldwide urging a moratorium on seabed mining in areas beyond national jurisdiction until there is sufficient science to ensure the marine environment’s protection.”
The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC), which comprises more than 130 organizations and institutes, in a statement called on governments to “reflect on the political and moral costs of inaction and stand firm for a moratorium.” Among the 38 countries that support a moratorium or precautionary pause on deep-sea mining are France, Brazil and Palau.
“We know that deep-sea mining will devastate life in the deep ocean, wipe out species before they have been discovered, and impact ocean functions, including carbon sequestration,” Farah Obaidullah, founder of the Netherlands-based The Ocean and Us, said in the statement.
In a separate statement, Greenpeace Aotearoa campaigner Juressa Lee called deep-sea mining “the latest form of colonisation and extraction.”
The DSCC said the ISA Assembly also failed to debate important issues such as the ocean’s role in climate regulation, the world’s limited knowledge on deep-sea ecosystems and whether minerals from the seabed really need to be mined.
The ISA Council has mandated an inquiry as TMC attempts to bypass the ISA and unilaterally mine in international waters. “Unless a moratorium is established, governments at the ISA could be sleepwalking into opening the door to one of the largest mining operations our planet has ever seen,” the DSCC said.
Banner image of a remotely operated vehicle KIEL 6000 holding a manganese nodule in the sought-after Clarion-Clipperton Zone by the ROV-Team/GEOMAR via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 4.0).
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