Nations Must Keep Pushing to Protect the Ocean Through Global Agreements

At three multilateral convenings in March and April, decision makers took important steps towards improving governance of the global ocean. Specifically, they worked to set up structures for protecting large stretches of the ocean and to discuss rules and regulations that can help minimize the risks posed by irresponsible fishing and deep-sea mining. But further progress is needed to protect marine ecosystems for the people and wildlife that depend on them.

High seas treaty in effect

Country delegates met at the United Nations to discuss how to put the new high seas treaty into practice. The treaty – formally the Agreement Under the United Nations Convention on the Law on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction – was adopted in 2023 and entered into force this year. Among other provisions, the treaty creates a pathway for establishing marine protected areas in the high seas, the two-thirds of the ocean lying outside any nation’s borders. Despite covering this large area, only about 1% of the high seas is protected, leaving the vast majority of ocean biodiversity at risk from well-documented threats.

This spring, government representatives, as part of the treaty’s Preparatory Commission, made progress towards finalizing the critical operational components – including financing and procedures for providing scientific advice – needed for nations to implement the agreement. Decision makers at the treaty’s first Conference of the Parties, to convene by January 2027, could use those recommendations to begin carrying out the agreement’s important work.

Curbing harmful fisheries subsidies

Countries met in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the World Trade Organization’s (WTO’s) 14th Ministerial Conference, where they adopted a declaration emphasizing the importance of curbing subsidies that drive overfishing.

Governments distribute $22 billion a year in harmful subsidies that primarily go to industrial fishing fleets to lower fuel and vessel construction costs artificially while enabling them to catch more fish, farther out to sea, for longer periods of time.

WTO member countries in 2022 adopted the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies, which became active last year and prohibits certain types of damaging government payments.

This spring’s declaration urges world leaders to quickly finalize new rules that will rein in destructive subsidies not already covered in the agreement. Doing so could improve fish populations and coastal communities’ livelihoods and quality of life.

Deep-sea mining uncertainty

The International Seabed Authority, which governs potential deep-sea mining and related exploratory activities in areas beyond national jurisdiction, met in Kingston, Jamaica, earlier this year to continue negotiating draft regulations.

Although there was some progress, gaps in the regulations remain, including issues that must be resolved for adequate protection of the marine environment. For example, there is no agreement on thresholds of environmental damage that would be allowed from mining, or whether regulations should cover only mining of polymetallic nodules containing nickel, manganese, copper, zinc and cobalt – primarily found on abyssal plains – or if they should also address mineral exploitation from other deep oceanic habitats, such as seamounts and underwater vent systems.

Many gaps are due to a lack of scientific data on the deep sea and the potential impacts of mining, including risks to how those ecosystems function for people's benefit. For example, some scientists predict that climate disruption could alter ocean conditions and drive tuna populations into future mining areas, possibly enabling heavy metals to enter the food chain. 

Such uncertainties, among others, are why 40 countries have called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining unless and until science-based regulations are in place that will ensure that ocean ecosystems are not harmed.

Policymaking momentum

People and marine life around the world rely on decision makers to enact policies that conserve marine ecosystems. These policymakers will have several opportunities in the coming months to build on the progress they made this spring: Negotiations on the new fisheries subsidies rules are ongoing; the International Seabed Authority will meet again in July; and the high seas treaty's Conference of the Parties will likely convene in January 2027.

From effectively protecting important ocean areas to making fishing practices more responsible to pausing efforts to mine the deep sea, government leaders must keep pushing for progress on key international policies that can have a meaningful impact on the future of the ocean on which humanity depends.

Elizabeth Wilson leads The Pew Charitable Trusts’ environmental policy team.

This piece was first published in Ocean Economy on June 3, 2026.