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The success of the High Seas Treaty depends on finding a democratic balance between conservation and use

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March 17, 2023

Because of their unique access to the underwater world, scientists are the gatekeepers for decisions about the deep sea. For democratic decision-making about the high seas we need to engage other diverse groups, argues Amanda Schadeberg.

This article is the English translation of the NRC opinion article, "Succes oceanenverdrag hangt af van de balans tussen bescherming en gebruik", written by Amanda Schadeberg with contributions by Simon Bush and published by NRC Opinion on March 14, 2023.

The high seas belong to everyone and no-one. Last week at the UN in New York, delegates from around the world agreed upon a treaty for managing Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction or ‘BBNJ’. After years of talk, this agreement for governing the high seas is seen as a crucial turning point for the sustainability of almost two-thirds of our planet, steering its use for activities like fishing, mining, shipping, as well as conservation and climate mitigation. How the BBNJ treaty will be implemented remains to be seen, but its long term success will require the continued political will of nations to balance conservation with demands for oceanic resources.

Twilight zone

The challenge of balancing multiple demands on the high seas may be greatest in the mesopelagic zone (sometimes called the ocean’s twilight zone), extending from 200m-1000m depth. Scientists and fishers, with support from both the European Union and United States government, are interested in learning more about the potential of unexploited fish populations to meet future demand for food. Of particular interest are lanternfish, a group of species of bioluminescent, anchovy-like fish that live in the mesopelagic zone. These fish constitute one of the largest single fish stocks globally – big enough, some scientists estimate, to double global fisheries landings. They are also representative of the high seas biodiversity that the new UN treaty is seeking to protect.

The growing interest in mesopelagic zone fisheries will be a key test of the BBNJ treaty. Unlike every other fishery in human history, lanternfish could be the first in history to have a formalised sustainable management plan before even one boat leaves harbour. Yet lanternfish are not only a source of nutritious seafood. They are also a foundational species underpinning complex marine food webs and ecosystems that in turn play a role in regulating carbon in the Earth’s atmosphere. Furthermore, they are also representative of the kinds of genetic resources that may prove valuable to tech and medicine in the future – a particularly important point of negotiation during the BBNJ negotiations in New York last week.

Despite all the debate and politics surrounding the BBNJ treaty, feeding the world, curing cancer or regulating our climate with the deep sea remains a sort of science fiction. It is fiction because there is currently limited to no real commercial use of this environment – all the debate and discussion is in anticipation of future use. It is ‘science-fiction’ because the only way we currently know and access the deep sea is through scientists and scientific programmes set up in anticipation of these future uses.

Science dominated

The privileged role of scientists here is not a problem in itself. But the role of science in enabling us to imagine how the deep seas can be used may well require the same kind of international scrutiny that the BBNJ treaty has just received. As we have shown, science is currently leading the way in how the mesopelagic zone is seen and understood. Deep sea programmes, backed by national interests, have given marine biologists and oceanographers the power to shape the deep sea in the public interest in ways that boil down essentially to a source of food and site of carbon sequestration. Biodiversity, in contrast to its prominence in the BBNJ debate, has been a far more limited focus thus far and there is even less attention to the social and political challenges of governing such a large and remote habitat.

The average person will never come face to face with a lanternfish in its natural habitat. More than anywhere else, natural scientists are the gatekeepers of the deep sea. However, they are not equipped to determine how these global commons should be exploited. Decisions about the deep sea should therefore not be made only by scientists and states but should engage wider society. As the BBNJ treaty is implemented it should mandate and coordinate deep-sea science to work with fishers, environmental conservation NGOs, climate and social justice activists, artists, ethicists and other members of the general public. Only then will BBNJ enable a truly democratized form of high seas governance that sees the deep-sea not only in terms of food and carbon, but also a multifaceted part of our collective biosphere.