Researchers Call for Total Ban on all Extraction from the High Sea – for Good
Everything we do in the high sea, risks causing damage that cannot be repaired. That’s what a group of leading scientists say in a recent article published in the journal Nature. They say it’s damaging biodiversity, affecting the climate, and creating huge inequalities in how resources are shared. It is time, they write, that we decide to save the ocean.
The high seas make up 61% of the entire ocean. It covers 43% of the Earth’s surface and constitutes two-thirds of the entire biosphere, i.e. everything that lives and where life can exist.
We have already caused serious damage to the ocean, from the intensive whaling that began in the 17th century and almost wiped out large animals, to today’s disastrous overfishing in the open sea. Now, climate change threatens to warm the ocean to temperatures that no living thing can survive.
Only 1% of the ocean is protected because governments and countries have failed to agree on protecting more. But in 2023, a breakthrough was achieved. During a number of intense days, a maritime treaty was negotiated. In The United Nations High Seas Treaty, countries committed to protecting at least 30% of the ocean by 2030. Since then, progress has been very slow. Only a small group of countries have ratified and signed the agreement, and Sweden is not one of them.
Now, scientists are calling for a total ban on all exploitation of the high seas. All extraction, such as fishing, deep-sea mining of metals, and oil and gas extraction, should be banned – forever, they say.
‘Life in the open ocean is crucial to the oceans‘ ability to store carbon dioxide, and it is too important for us to lose,’ says lead author Professor Callum Roberts, Professor of Marine Conservation at the University of Exeter and lead researcher at the Convex Seascape Survey.
The ocean is too important, they argue, for all life on Earth, for us to hand it over to increasingly escalating exploitation. There are four main reasons why they want to stop all exploitation for the future:
Deep-sea mining: The risks are too great and too uncontrollable. In addition, there are larger mineral reserves on land that can be extracted with less risk and better control.
Climate stability: The open ocean is the Earth’s largest and most secure carbon sink. Keeping it safe is key to preserving the biological nutrient cycles that bind and control carbon levels in the atmosphere.
Biodiversity and fishing: To give endangered species a chance to survive while making sure we have enough food in the future and giving everyone on Earth fairer access to the sea’s resources.
Oil and gas: Scientists believe that there is no reason whatsoever to extract fossil fuels from the open sea.
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The article in Nature was produced through the global research collaboration Convex Seascape Survey, which includes some of the world’s most influential scientists:
Sylvia Earle, pioneering oceanographer, National Geographic Explorer and founder and director of Mission Blue. Johan Rockström, leading climate scientist and director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. Daniel Pauly, leading fisheries scientist and founder and director of Sea Around Us at the Institute for the Study of Land and Ocean Dynamics, University of British Columbia. Jessica Meeuwig is a world leader in open ocean ecosystems and holds the Wen Family Professorship in Conservation at the School of Biological Sciences, University of Western Australia Oceans Institute. Rashid Sumaila, marine economist, Killam Professor and Canada Research Chair in Interdisciplinary Marine and Fisheries Economics at the Institute for the Sea and Fisheries and the School of Public Policy and Global Affairs, University of British Columbia. Stuart Pimm, world leader in biodiversity science and Doris Duke Professor of Conservation Biology at the Nicholas School of the Environment, Duke University. Mark Lynas, award-winning science writer and scientific advisor to the Climate Vulnerable Forum. Andrew Forrest, mining industry executive, ocean scientist, philanthropist and advocate for green economic transition, University of Western Australia, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Fortescue, Perth, Western Australia, Australia; Minderoo Foundation, Perth, Western Australia, Australia. Ove Hoegh-Guldberg FAA, leading expert on climate change and the ocean, and professor emeritus at the School of the Environment, University of Queensland.
