Source: The Guardian
Author: Matthew Taylor
The world’s oceans are facing a “new industrial frontier” from a fledgling deep-sea mining industry as companies line up to extract metals and minerals from some of the most important ecosystems on the planet, a report has found.
Continue reading Deep-sea mining to turn oceans into ‘new industrial frontier’
Source: The Guardian
Author: Chris Packham
“When I was filming Blue Planet Live, I was struck by just how much of the ocean has been altered by humans. From industrial fisheries ensnaring ocean giants in kilometres-long lines, to finding our trash at some of the deepest parts of the ocean: it’s clear that however vast the seas are, we are causing profound harm.
Continue reading In too deep: why the seabed should be off-limits to mining companies
Source: Financial Times
Author: Henry Sanderson
Deep-sea mining risks “severe and potentially irreversible” environmental harm and the UK should prioritise protecting the ocean rather than extracting minerals from it, Greenpeace said. The government has awarded deep-sea exploration licences to a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, which could lead to deep-sea mining despite Westminster being aware of the environmental risks, the environmental group said.
Continue reading Deep-sea mining risks ‘irreversible’ harm, warns Greenpeace
Source: Hakai Magazine
Author: Matt Koller
Nearly 180 kilometers off the coast of San Diego, California, there’s a surf break that, from time to time, spawns waves rising taller than two telephone poles stacked on top of each other. They inspire awe—and caution—in those driving the boats carrying big-wave surfers in search of the next world record. Yet there’s another hazard lurking in these waters: Bishop Rock, the summit of an enormous underwater mountain, lies just a meter or two below the surface. When the sea is particularly rough, Bishop Rock can poke its head through the troughs of larger swells.
Continue reading California Seamounts Are Sylvia Earle’s Newest “Hope Spots”
Source: EU Reporter
The International Seabed Authority, an intergovernmental organization established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, is in the process of developing regulations that would permit mining the international areas of the deep ocean seabed.
Source: The Guardian
Author: Karen McVeigh
Bacteria from the ocean floor can beat superbugs and cancer. But habitats are at risk from the hunger for marine minerals.
Continue reading Scientists fear impact of deep-sea mining on search for new medicines
Source: The Narwhal
Author: James Wilt
After two years of advocacy and 70,000 letters sent, conservation organizations across Canada are celebrating the federal government’s decision to prohibit all oil and gas activities in marine protected areas.
“The public played a really big role in this change,” said Stephanie Hewson, staff lawyer at West Coast Environmental Law, in an interview with The Narwhal.
Continue reading Canada bans deep-sea mining, oil and gas drilling in marine protected areas
Source: Act Now PNG
The risks and uncertainties of experimental seabed mining are too great to allow this industry to ever proceed in Papua New Guinea.
This was the view shared by seabed mining advocates, together with locals of West Coast Namatanai and representatives of Duke of York Islands, East New Britain Province, during an open forum in Namatanai.
After the gathering, a joint statement was issued, saying: “As New Irelanders we have two world class mining in Lihir and Simberi gold mine. We have logging operations and oil palm industry operating in the Province. We have run down plantations that can be used for cocoa or copra project that support local people.
Continue reading here.
