Update: On June 19th, 2023, global delegates formally adopted the High Seas treaty in New York. Once 60 countries have ratified the treaty, it will be entered into force and become international law.
This ocean area that lies outside of any country’s jurisdiction is known as the High Seas and covers over 60 percent of the ocean. This global commons is critical to the health of the entire ocean.
It is one of the largest reservoirs of biodiversity on the planet and is a crucial component in several of the Earth’s systems and cycles, providing a multitude of ecosystem services. Many species, such as whales, tunas, sharks, and turtles spend much of their lives traveling along the highways of the High Seas to feeding, spawning, and breeding grounds.
But despite its size and importance, only 1.2% of the High Seas have been protected, because it lacks clear rules to establish protected areas leaving its marine life vulnerable to exploitation.
Human-related threats include unsustainable and illegal fishing, shipping traffic, noise pollution, seabed mining, plastic and chemical pollution, and acidifying and warming waters as a result of the climate crisis.
Following nearly 20 years of discussions at the United Nations, governments are in the final stages of negotiating a new United Nations Treaty that would ensure the meaningful protection of ocean life found in this great global commons. This will be a key step towards moving the planet closer to the goal of protecting at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, the minimum level of protection scientists recommend for a healthy ocean.
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