Joint eNGO Briefing Paper for the 11th Meeting of the Commission of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation from 13-17 February 2023
Read the DSCC’s briefing on why a moratorium on deep-sea mining is critical and how it can be achieved below.
Available in English
Briefing Paper for the 9th Meeting of the Compliance and Technical Commission and the 10th Meeting of the Commission of the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organization
Online from 19 – 22, 24 – 28 January 2022
Seamounts are fragile and biologically diverse marine ecosystems that are vulnerable to deep-sea fisheries activities and, increasingly, other human impacts.
This briefing examines the current state of seamount science and protection. It summarizes who continues to fish in these unique habitats and presents a case for urgent and intensified political action to protect these biodiversity hotspots.
- Available in English.
The 9th Meeting of the SPRFMO Commission and 8th Compliance and Technical Committee Meeting are to be held remotely from 21 January-3 February 2021.
Briefing Paper
Interventions:
The ISA has issued three sets of draft guidelines and standards for deep-sea mining for public comment. These are the ‘Draft guideline on the preparation and assessment of an application for the approval of a Plan of Work for exploitation’; the ‘Draft standard and guidelines on the development and application of environmental management systems’; and the ‘Draft standard and guidelines on the form and calculation of an environmental performance guarantee’.
Below is the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition comments on these draft guidelines and standards.
- Available in English.
Mining of the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction, known as the Area, is administered by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and may be carried out by a contractor sponsored by a State Party. It is vital that States consider the complex legal risks, responsibilities and potential liability for damage that can arise from the sponsorship of seabed mining activities in the Area | Author: Duncan Currie LL.B. (Hons.) LL.M
- Available in English.
Commercial scale deep-sea mining has yet to begin but, driven by markets and technology, corporationsand governments haveincreased the pace of explorationfor mineral deposits in deep ocean seabeds.Many of these depositsare found at depths between1000 and6000m below the surfaceand contain large concentrations of metals of commercial interest such as copper,nickel,manganese,gold,lithium,platinumand rare earth elements.
Available in: English
Two paragraphs in the 2017 sustainable fisheries resolution underline the importance that the United Nations places both on protecting the deep sea, and the long-term sustainability of deep-sea fish stocks, and on the importance of honouring the commitments in the UNGA resolutions.
Available in English.
The European Union has one of the world’s largest deep-sea fishing fleets. There is widespread scientific evidence that deep-sea bottom trawl fishing is the greatest direct threat to deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystems, including coldwater coral reefs, sponge gardens and seamount ecosystems, and causes serious declines in deep-sea fish populations.
Available in English.