Managing mining of the deep seabed

Abstract

Contracts are being granted, but protections are lagging

Major impacts of climate change on deep-sea benthic ecosystems

“…Pressure from fishing has also increased since the mid-20 th century on seamounts and along continental margins, and there is now strong evidence that many deepwater fish species (e.g., rockfish, Greenland halibut, lings and tusks, orange roughy, sablefish and blue grenadier) have been severely exploited through trawling and longlining, with some species having been fished to commercial extinction (e.g., pelagic armourhead; Koslow et al 2000). There is also extensive interest in mineral mining at hydrothermal vent systems along mid ocean ridges and back arc basins, bathyal seamounts and polymetallic nodule areas at abyssal depths, as well as for phosphorites on margins (Mengerink et al, 2014;Thurber et al, 2014;Wedding et al, 2015;Amon et al, 2016;Levin et al, 2016;Vanreusel et al, 2016). Deep-sea sediments and organisms are also sinks for a variety of chemical pollutants, including persistent organochlorine pollutants (e.g., PCBs), which may have toxic effects for a variety of fauna at high concentrations (Froescheis et al, 2000;Looser et al, 2000;Ramirez Llodra et al, 2011).…”

Editorial: Biodiversity of the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone

“…Wedding et al 2015;Fritz 2016;Le et al 2017;Vanreusel et al 2016). Following a precautionary approach, the ISA protected a network of nine 160,000-km 2 no-mining areas, now called Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEIs), to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function in the CCZ (Smith et al 2008a;Wedding et al 2013Wedding et al , 2015.…”

“…Wedding et al 2015;Fritz 2016;Le et al 2017;Vanreusel et al 2016). Following a precautionary approach, the ISA protected a network of nine 160,000-km 2 no-mining areas, now called Areas of Particular Environmental Interest (APEIs), to safeguard biodiversity and ecosystem function in the CCZ (Smith et al 2008a;Wedding et al 2013Wedding et al , 2015. Although the original network design included APEIs in the core of the CCZ (Smith et al 2008a;Wedding et al 2013), the APEIs are now located mainly in the outer regions of the CCZ and were selected based on environmental proxies; until 2015, no biological sampling had been undertaken in these areas to directly evaluate the degree of connectivity between faunal assemblages of APEIs and areas targeted for mining (Martínez Arbizu and Haeckel 2015; Amon et al 2016b;Vanreusel et al 2016).…”

“…For polymetallic nodules, the Clarion Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ), in the north-eastern equatorial Pacific, is the area of greatest commercial interest ( Fig. 1) (Wedding et al 2015). The CCZ encompasses about six million square kilometres of abyssal (>3000 m) seafloor, an area nearly the size of Europe, and the region harbours among the world's most economically valuable deposits of polymetallic nodules (Figs 2 and 3) and is, thus, potentially a major source of copper, nickel, cobalt and other minerals.…”

Kanak coastal communities and fisheries meeting new governance challenges and marine issues in New Caledonia

“…In fact, the increase of Pacific licences to explore subsea floors, regardless of their potential environmental and/or social consequences, seems to conflict with the objectives of conserving seabed resources as a "common heritage", of the Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and of Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration providing for public participation and the establishment of independent "Citizens' Advisory Councils" in such environmental issues (SPC 2012), and of the largescale MPAs that are now established in the same areas. ISA currently has to face growing pressure from scientists and environmental and civil 67 organizations calling for a precautionary approach and a freeze on contracts until independent research on seabed ecosystems has been conducted and the regulatory framework 68 of deep-sea mining has been improved (Halfar and Fujita 2002;Wedding et al 2015).…”