September 29, 2025 — In a milestone for ocean governance and conservation, the High Seas Treaty has cleared the final hurdle to become international law, which for the first time provides a legal pathway towards protecting vast areas of the global ocean beyond countries’ national jurisdictions.
‘Super big deal’: High seas treaty reaches enough ratifications to become law
September 24, 2025 — A major treaty establishing a framework for the world’s nations to jointly manage marine conservation in international waters, which cover about half of the Earth’s surface, has reached enough ratifications to become international law. It will come into force in January.
The deal, known as the agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ), was reached in 2023 with much fanfare in marine conservation circles. But like any international agreement, the high seas treaty, as it’s often called, didn’t just become law overnight. It required 60 countries to ratify it to enter into force. Now, with unusual speed by the standards of such deals, it’s reached that threshold.
Morocco deposited its instrument of acceptance on Sept. 19, becoming the 60th country to do so. That launched a 120-day period until the treaty will become binding international law, on Jan. 17, 2026. Experts and advocates celebrated the occasion, calling it a win for conservation and international cooperation.
“This is a super big deal, both for ocean protection and for proving that there’s still hope in multilateralism, that countries can come together and do big things, even in these times where there’s so much discord across the world,” Arlo Hemphill, an oceans project lead at Greenpeace USA, told Mongabay.
Morocco’s mission to the U.N. called it “a milestone for the protection of the ocean, the strengthening of multilateralism, and the collective commitment of the international community to safeguarding marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction” in an X post.
Hard-Fought Treaty to Protect Ocean Life Clears a Final Hurdle
September 22, 2025 — The high seas, the vast waters beyond any one country’s jurisdiction, cover nearly half the planet. On Friday, a hard-fought global treaty to protect the “cornucopia of biodiversity” living there cleared a final hurdle and will become international law.
The High Seas Treaty, as it is known, was ratified by a 60th nation, Morocco, crossing the threshold for United Nations treaties to go into effect. Two decades in the making, it allows for the establishment of enormous conservation zones in international waters.
Environmentalists hailed it as a historic moment. The treaty “is a conservation opportunity that happens once in a generation, if that,” said Lisa Speer, who directs the International Oceans Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council.
It is also a bright spot amid a general dimming of optimism about international diplomacy and cooperation among nations toward common goals. It will come into force just as the high seas are poised to become the site of controversial industrial activities including deep sea mining.
Nations ratify world’s first treaty to protect marine biodiversity in international waters
September 22, 2025 — A major agreement to protect marine diversity in the high seas was struck Friday when Morocco became the 60th nation to sign on, paving the way for the treaty to take effect next year.
The High Seas Treaty is the first legal framework aimed at protecting biodiversity in international waters, those that lie beyond the jurisdiction of any single country. International waters account for nearly two-thirds of the ocean and nearly half of Earth’s surface and are vulnerable to threats including overfishing, climate change and deep-sea mining.
“The high seas are the world’s largest crime scene — they’re unmanaged, unenforced, and a regulatory legal structure is absolutely necessary,” said Johan Bergenas, senior vice president of oceans at the World Wildlife Fund.
Still, the pact’s strength is uncertain as some of the world’s biggest players — the U.S., China, Russia and Japan — have yet to ratify. The U.S. and China have signed, signaling intent to align with the treaty’s objectives without creating legal obligations, while Japan and Russia have been active in preparatory talks.
Ratification triggers a 120-day countdown for the treaty to take effect. But much more work remains to flesh out how it will be implemented, financed and enforced.
“You need bigger boats, more fuel, more training and a different regulatory system,” Bergenas said. “The treaty is foundational — now begins the hard work.”
Long-wrought WTO global agreement aimed at reducing overfishing takes effect
September 15, 2025 — A World Trade Organization agreement aimed at reducing overfishing took effect Monday, requiring countries to reduce subsidies doled out to fishing fleets and aiming to ensure sustainability of wildlife in the world’s seas and oceans.
Following a string of national approvals more than three years after its adoption, the WTO Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies is designed to help limit the depletion of fish stocks caused by excessive fishing.
The Geneva-based trade body touts the deal as its first focusing on the environment, and the first broad and binding multilateral agreement on ocean sustainability.
The deal, championed by WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, formally took effect on Monday after four more countries — Brazil, Kenya, Tonga and Vietnam — adopted it.
Fisheries management and Greenland
September 9, 2025 — Greenland has been much in the news since the Trump administration announced its desire to control the world’s largest island. While geographically part of North America (as is western Iceland), Greenland is a semi-autonomous region under the control of Denmark and is politically and economically aligned with the European Union. The EU pays Greenland over $20 million annually for access and support of Greenland’s fisheries.
While seafood products including halibut, shrimp, and mackerel account for well over 90 percent of Greenland’s exports, Greenland seldom makes the fisheries news in North America. Yet several North American stocks migrate to Greenland waters, most notably Atlantic salmon and bluefin tuna.
Bluefin tuna have been reported as bycatch in the Greenland mackerel fishery, and Atlantic salmon from Maine and Canada can be caught in the island’s subsistence salmon fishery. Salmon bycatch in Greenland’s commercial fisheries is deemed insignificant.
Carney administration launches Buy Canada program aimed at supporting sectors hard hit by US trade policy
September 9, 2025 — Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has announced a set of strategic measures aimed at responding to the impacts of U.S. trade policy, and the nation’s seafood industry appears likely to benefit.
“We cannot control what other nations do,” Carney said in a press release about the Buy Canada policy package he announced on 5 September. “We can control what we give ourselves – what we build for ourselves.”
The offshore wind turbines destroying Britain’s fishing trade
August 11, 2025 — When Ken Bagley led a convoy of fishing boats into battle against the UK’s first wind developers two decades ago, his hope was to save something of the fishing industry that had supported his family since the 1890s.
Bagley’s convoy sailed in front of the barges attempting to install the first turbines in the rich fishing grounds off Skegness, halting work and infuriating the contractors trying to kick-start Britain’s entry into the world of green energy.
“They were installing that turbine into one of the richest mussel beds in the region, so I led 22 boats into the construction area and halted the work. We thought it was a great victory back then,” recalls Bagley, who is chairman of the Boston Fishermen’s Association.
China Calls Them Fish Farms. South Korea Fears They Have Another Use.
June 24, 2025 — In recent years, China has towed a decommissioned offshore oil-drilling rig and two giant octagonal steel cages into the sea between China and South Korea, saying that the structures were used as deep-sea fish farms in shared waters. But South Koreans fear that they are more than that and could be used to expand China’s military influence.
South Korea’s National Assembly formally took issue with the Chinese structures on Monday when its ocean and fisheries committee condemned them as “a threat to maritime safety,” in a resolution adopted with bipartisan support. Those fears were bolstered on Tuesday by a report from the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.
“While available information suggests that the platforms are genuinely focused on aquaculture, concerns that the platforms may be dual-use are not unfounded, given China’s track record in the South China Sea,” said the report, which used satellite imagery and other data to track the installations. Dual-use refers to a second potential use for military purposes.
“Even without further expansion, the platforms are likely already collecting data that could have value for undersea navigation and detection,” the report said.
EU unveils new Ocean Pact at UN Ocean Conference, pledges EUR 1 billion in funding
June 10, 2025 — The European Union recently unveiled the Ocean Pact – a comprehensive strategy it said is intended to protect the ocean and promote a thriving blue economy.
The newly unveiled strategy fulfills a promise made by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, who pledged to create the strategy in July 2024. The European Ocean Pact was officially adopted on 5 June, and von der Leyen unveiled the new strategy at the start of the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, which is running from 9 June through 13 June.
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