Campaign Against Deep-Sea Mining

The independent science is clear and undeniable:

Deep-sea mining will disrupt and harm the deep sea’s unique biodiversity and the invaluable role it plays in ensuring the health of our ocean, climate, and planet.

For this critical reason, and many more, we are unwavering in our belief that deep-sea mining is a short-sighted, unjustified, and unacceptable threat to the ocean and the present and future generations that depend on it.

With so much at stake, we are calling on YOU—young people, policymakers, government officials, Indigenous leaders, NGOs, scientists, ocean advocates, and beyond—to stand with us and take action in support of a moratorium on deep-sea mining. 

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Learn more about deep-sea mining and its key threats from the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, The Center for Biological Diversity, UN Environment Programme, The Ocean Foundation, and The Blue Climate Initiative.

Sustainable Ocean Alliance, representing the largest global network of young ocean leaders, calls for a moratorium on deep-sea mining to enable the global community to:

1. Undertake scientific research to better understand the unique deep-sea biodiversity, the deep sea's role in carbon storage and the global climate system, the potential impacts of mining and the risks to deep-sea species and ecosystems, the potential for climate mitigation and recovery, and the opportunities to invest in and expand the sustainable blue economy; and

2. Ensure that decision-making processes around deep-sea mining, such as those at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) are inclusive, transparent, accountable, adequately account for intergenerational equity, and ensure the protection of marine biodiversity and the ocean’s health.

Read the complete position letter here. 

Read and sign the letter below to add your name to the global campaign for a moratorium on sea mining.

Dear Esteemed Representative,

As young ocean leaders, we are extremely concerned by the evolving interest in deep-sea mining, under the greenwashing guise of fueling the green energy revolution.

We are unwavering in our belief that deep-sea mining is an unjustified threat to the health of our ocean and the present and future generations that depend on it.  Therefore, with so much at stake, we ask you to stand with us in calling for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, in line with the UN Decade of Ocean Science. 

We believe that a moratorium on deep-sea mining is necessary for two primary reasons:

1. As a global community, we need to undertake rigorous scientific research to better understand the unique biodiversity of the deep sea, the deep sea's role in the global climate system, the potential risk to and impact of mining on deep-sea species and ecosystems, the potential for climate mitigation and recovery, and the opportunities to expand the sustainable blue economy; and

2. We need to ensure that any decision-making processes around deep-sea mining, such as those taking place at the International Seabed Authority (ISA), are inclusive, transparent, accountable, and adequately account for intergenerational, intersectional, and intergovernmental equity.

Though at present no commercial deep-sea mining is taking place, the pressure is mounting for national governments and the ISA—the intergovernmental body responsible for regulating mining and related activities in the international seabed beyond national jurisdiction—to allow widespread mineral extraction to begin. 

If deep-sea mining is allowed, we will be exploiting incredibly biodiverse and fragile ecosystems that will result in severe environmental impacts that we cannot fully understand, let alone predict or mitigate.

Moreover, deep-sea mining stands in conflict with many widely accepted standards, international treaties, and current global commitments such as:

• The Precautionary Principle

• UN Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14 'Life Below Water'

• The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Treaty

• The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

and more.

Despite all of this, few stand to profit from deep-sea mining, while many stand to be affected.

For all these reasons and more, we, as the generation inheriting this planet, ask you to stand with us to support a moratorium on deep-sea mining in line with the UN Decade of Ocean Science.  We ask you to stand for science, stand for the ocean, and stand for the rights of current and future generations.

We sincerely thank you for your support and for your leadership. 

Signed,

Use the following links to continue your learning about deep-sea mining and to help spread the word about this issue among your networks. 

Social Media Resources

Download SOA's Deep-Sea Mining Social Media Toolkit with graphics, links, and captions (available in English, Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Filipino)

Add your voice to SOA's calls to #DefendTheDeep across social media by resharing and following our social media posts on Linkedin, Instagram, TikTok, and Threads. 

Learn More

Momentum for a Moratorium on Deep-Sea Mining Tracker

Deep-Sea Mining Fact Sheets

Defend The Deep Campaign — Send an Email to Your Country Representative