Protecting the deep sea: a call for balancing mining and ecosystem sustainability

A new species from a new order of Cnidaria collected at 4,100 meters in the Clarion-Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCZ) that lives on sponge stalks attached to nodules. Image courtesy of Craig Smith and Diva Amon, ABYSSLINE Project.

Thousands of feet below the ocean’s surface lies a hidden world of undiscovered species and unique seabed habitats—as well as a vast untapped store of natural resources including valuable metals and rare-earth minerals. Technology and infrastructure development worldwide is dramatically increasing demand for these resources, which are key components in everything from cars and modern buildings to computers and smartphones. This demand has catalyzed interest in mining huge areas of the deep-sea floor.

A 26-year old test mining track (1.5 m wide) created at the seafloor of the CCZ illustrating the extremely slow recovery of these abyssal ecosystems from physical disturbance. Photo credit: Copyright Ifremer, Nodinaut cruise (2004)

In a paper published this week in Science, Oceanography professor Craig Smith along with the Center for Ocean Solutions and co-authors from leading institutions around the world propose a strategy for balancing commercial extraction of deep-sea resources with protection of diverse seabed habitats. The paper is intended to inform upcoming discussions by the International Seabed Authority (ISA) and set the groundwork for future deep-sea environmental protection and mining regulations.

Read more about it in the UH System News.