Our seas are in deep, deep trouble. They house an extraordinarily diverse eco-system of marine life, and are crucial to the well being of land-based ecosystems. And as of this moment, they may as well be the Wild West for corporations and governments to pillage as they please.
By reading the cruise reports from 40 years of expeditions, we provide the first syustematic of biodiversity at deep-sea hydrothermal vents around the world adjusted for research effort.
Pacific civil society organisations have asked Pacific Islands Forum leaders for a 10-year moratorium on seabed mining from 2021 to 2030, to give time for more scientific data to be generated to better inform the governance and conservation of our Ocean.
Fiji Prime Minister Voreqe Bainimarama has again called for a 10-year moratorium on sea-bed mining, at a time that many Pacific island nations are preparing for new frontiers of resource exploitation in the marine environment. Link to the full article below.
Hydrothermal vents host rare species at incredibly high density comparable to tropical rainforests or coral reefs...Now, species in even the most inaccessible parts of Earth are threatened by disturbance from human activity, including mining the depths of the ocean.
Improved recycling and a circular economy negates the need for costly and damaging mining of the deep seabed...Interest in alternative sources of minerals is growing among civil society, scientists and companies, with work being undertaken towards “urban mining” and the shift to a circular econom
All mining operations, on land or at sea, cause environmental damage. Research strongly suggests that deep-sea mining will result in the loss of biodiversity...Such efforts could protect fragile marine environment from impacts of mining. Link to full article below.
The stakes are high for the Pacific, where the pulse of an ailing ocean is sounding a warning for the future of its 12 million people.
The deep sea — usually defined as the realm below 200 metres — is a world of extremes. Temperatures near the sea bed in many places hover near 0 °C, there is next to no light, and pressures can exceed 1,000 bars, equivalent to having a couple of elephants standing on your big toe. But still life thrives. The deep sea contains a vast array of ecosystems that researchers have barely begun to study. The ocean floor holds vast deposits of ores containing sought-after metals.
The oceans are facing more threats now than at any time in history. Yet a nascent industry is ramping up to exert yet more pressure on marine life: deep sea mining. A handful of governments and companies have been granted licences to explore for deep sea mining in ecologically sensitive waters, and the industry is positioning its development as inevitable, but deep sea mining isn’t happening anywhere in the global oceans – yet.