Three weeks of negotiations at the International Seabed Authority have ended without delivering the action needed to protect the deep ocean, reinforcing why a moratorium on deep-sea mining is vital. Read our reaction in full ⬇️ deep-sea-conservation.org/governments-... #DeepSeaMining #DefendTheDeep

Governments fail to protect the global commons as ISA meeting ends without action, while calls for a deep-sea mining moratorium grow - DSCC

Media Release Governments concluded three weeks of negotiations at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) with the only substantive decision being to expand the rights of mining contractors, highlig...

deep-sea-conservation.org

🇨🇬 The Republic of the Congo has joined the call for a moratorium on deep-sea mining, another vital step for the growing global movement calling for precaution, sound science, international law and protection of the common heritage of humankind. Momentum is building 👏 #DefendTheDeep

The ocean can't speak at the negotiating table. So we did. From Kingston's shores, as the ISA Assembly meets, we spelled out the message: → Protect the deep sea. → Defend our common heritage. → Support a deep-sea mining moratorium now. Governments, the world is watching. #DefendTheDeep

Two-thirds of the world’s hydrothermal vent molluscs are now threatened with extinction, a new IUCN Red List assessment reveals, driven by the threat of deep-sea mining. #sciencespotlight #deepseascience

The deep ocean makes up 90% of the Earth’s marine environment & is its largest biome, but remains mostly unexplored. More scientific discoveries are revealing how important the deep ocean is to our planet. DYK the deep sea plays a central role in regulating Earth’s temperature & currents? #ISA31

Deep Ocean - One Ocean

The deep ocean is defined as the sea and seabed below 200m because this is where light fades.  It makes up 90% of the Earth’s marine environment and is the largest biome (community of plants and anima...

oceanprotect.org

Once labelled the world’s ugliest animal, blobfish look like normal fish in their natural deep-sea habitat. Soft bones, loose skin and a thick, jelly-like layer of flesh help blobfish survive in the dark, cold depths of the ocean. #DeepSeaWonders

Scientists at the UN Bottom Fisheries Workshop highlighted the urgent need to end bottom trawling on seamounts and underlined that current measures have failed to prevent ongoing damage to vulnerable deep-sea ecosystems.

New reports raising serious questions about deep-sea mining keep piling up as governments meet in Kingston for the ISA Council and Assembly. Different reports, same conclusion: There is too much at risk. ⚠️ Governments must support a moratorium on deep-sea mining. #DefendTheDeep

Can I introduce you to the Flapjack Octopus. 🙂

One company is trying to bypass the international rules and mine the international seabed. It's unnecessary, destructive and widely considered contrary to international law. 43 countries already support a moratorium or precautionary pause. Governments meeting at the ISA must # DefendTheDeep.

The deep sea is not for plunder. ❌ As the ISA meets in Jamaica to decide whether to open the deep ocean to industrial mining, ocean lovers worldwide rise with one call: deep-sea mining has no social licence. This weekend, go in the water and share your moment using #DefendTheDeep

The 2026 UN Bottom Fisheries Review is a critical moment for deep-sea protection. Seamounts support ocean health and help the ocean buffer the impacts of the climate crisis, but bottom trawling is weakening that resilience. Only when trawling stops can recovery begin.

Governments meet in Kingston this week for the ISA Council & Assembly—a test of whether international law can protect the deep sea. Meanwhile, 43 countries (now including 3 African nations) back a pause on deep-sea mining. 🔗 Our experts weigh in: https://shorturl.at/sFDR2

The UN Bottom Fisheries Review (13–14 July 2026) is putting seamounts under renewed focus. These deep-sea mountains are biodiversity hotspots, but are still threatened by destructive bottom trawling. A shift from ambition to action is now within reach 👉 https://bit.ly/4eZ2Jqd

There are over 1,000 species of sea cucumbers throughout the ocean, from shallow waters to the abyss. They plod along the seafloor and hoover up sediment, absorbing nutrients and expelling the rest in a similar way to earthworms. #DeepSeaWonders

Deep-sea coral and sponge hotspots on the Corner Rise #seamounts, in an area beyond national jurisdiction, meet international criteria for Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. #HighSeas #MPAs @planulara.bsky.social https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/marine-science/articles/10.3389/fmars.2026.1752067/full

Seamounts are oases of life in the deep ocean, with coral and sponge communities that take centuries to form. A single pass of a bottom trawler can destroy them. Thanks to our panellists and everyone who joined our briefing on the 2026 UN Bottom Fisheries Review. Watch https://youtu.be/i-m2OJBhZ8I

Two new deep-sea bamboo coral species on remote mid-ocean ridges in the Indian Ocean have been discovered. 📷 NOAA Ocean Exploration, Northeast U.S. Canyons Expedition 2013 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0967063726000014

The UN Bottom Fisheries Review (13–14 July 2026) is putting seamounts under renewed focus. These deep-sea mountains are biodiversity hotspots, but are still threatened by destructive bottom trawling. Pressure is growing for a global deadline to end bottom trawling on seamounts by 2027.

States face a choice at the 2026 ISA meeting: defend international law and the common heritage of humankind—or allow unlawful deep-sea mining to set a dangerous precedent. Join us on 9 July for the latest webinar in DSCC's Media & Policy Briefing Series. Register: shorturl.at/zLYIJ @greenpeace.org

Industrial fishing has been depleting the ocean's twilight zone for decades, largely unnoticed and almost entirely unregulated. A new study finds that midwater fish critical to food webs & carbon storage have been heavily exploited in plain sight. #deepseascience https://bit.ly/4vGbdbP

📣 Calling journalists! Join the DSCC and deep-sea scientists for a media briefing ahead of the UN Bottom Fisheries Review, where governments will decide whether longstanding promises will turn into concrete actions. You will receive a press kit after registration: https://bit.ly/4vEO8pD

📬 It’s here! The latest Deep Sea Digest just landed. From the surface to the seafloor, this issue highlights major outcomes, key moments, and powerful mobilizations showing encouraging progress in protecting the deep sea. Read it here: https://bit.ly/4eThJoj

The deep ocean needs you. On July 19, people around the world are taking to the water in a global day of action to stop deep-sea mining. Want to organize something in your community? Let us know in the comments! Find out more: https://bit.ly/49UGkaD

Seamounts are underwater mountains that support extraordinary marine life and vital ocean health. Yet bottom trawling continues to devastate these fragile ecosystems ❌ This year, the 2026 UN Bottom Fisheries Review can champion a clear, explicit timeline to end bottom trawling.

States face a choice at the 2026 ISA meeting: defend international law and the common heritage of humankind—or allow unlawful deep-sea mining to set a dangerous precedent. Join us on 9 July for the latest webinar in DSCC's Media & Policy Briefing Series. Register: https://shorturl.at/zLYIJ

Excellent event on #DeepSeaMining at the #OurOceanConference in Mombasa, 🇰🇪 organized by @deepseaconserve.bsky.social As the first state in Africa Malawi announced its call for a #precautionarypause, joining 40 other like-minded States from the Pacific, Americas and Europe 💪🌊 @umweltministerium.de

Momentum is building across Africa! In just a few days, Malawi🇲🇼 Kenya🇰🇪 and Madagascar🇲🇬 have all supported a pause on deep-sea mining. A landlocked, coastal, and island nation united in recognizing the need to protect the deep sea. Who's next? #DefendTheDeep #DeepSeaMining #OurOceanKenya #OOC11

Tripod fish get their name from the three projections from their modified fins, which they use to plant themselves on the seafloor, waiting for prey. They sense and direct this prey towards their mouths with antennae-like fins. #DeepSeaWonders

The final #DefendTheDeep Friday is here. This week we're calling on 🇨🇦, 🇬🇧, 🇪🇸, 🇧🇷, 🇮🇪, 🇵🇹 & 🇫🇷 - countries that already support a moratorium - to step up and make it official at the July ISA meetings. Words aren't enough. Take action: https://campaigns.civiclick.com/9256b760-c0f4-47a9-a227-ca40a98e302f