Pacific group urges public submissions on U.S-backed deep-sea exploration proposal

A proposal by a United States company to explore for deep-sea minerals in international waters between Kiribati, the Cook Islands, and French Polynesia has opened for public comment until August 3. This move comes as international regulations for deep-sea mining are still under negotiation through the International Seabed Authority (ISA).

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The Pacific Ocean is one connected ecosystem. Ocean currents don’t stop at jurisdictional boundaries, tuna don’t stop at jurisdictional boundaries, and the potential impacts of deep-sea mining won’t either.

The Pacific Islands Climate Action Network (PICAN) has launched a campaign urging people in the Pacific and beyond to submit comments. PICAN's Strategic Communications Lead, Dylan Kava, questioned the U.S. decision to pursue a unilateral licensing process, emphasizing the interconnectedness of the Pacific Ocean's ecosystem and the potential transboundary impacts of deep-sea mining. He stressed that such activities should be governed by the precautionary principle and transparent, multilateral processes.

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We need to be able to assess the damage, we need to be able to monitor change in biodiversity as a result of these impacts, and we need to be able to monitor marine protected areas and monitor change in the deep sea.

Marine scientists highlight the significant challenges in managing deep-sea biodiversity due to a lack of understanding. Dr. Tammy Horton, a research scientist, stated at a seminar that monitoring biodiversity is crucial for assessing the damage caused by human activities and for understanding changes within marine protected areas. Researchers study deep-sea communities over time to differentiate natural fluctuations from human-induced changes, a task complicated by the deep sea being "one of Earth’s least understood ecosystems."

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one of Earth’s least understood ecosystems