The Deep Sea Mining Campaign warns that if nodule mining is allowed to take place in the Pacific Ocean, species such as the Sperm Whale could be adversely affected. Photo: WILLYAM
The world is headed for the Pacific to mine, an advocate against seabed mining says.
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) Council is currently meeting is Kingston Jamaica to continue the process of forming mining rules.
The ISA Assembly will meet next week.
It comes as The Metals Company chief executive Gerrard Barron told Reuters he plans to apply for a mining license in the Clarion Clipperton Zone through Nauru this year, after enacting what is known as the two-year rule.
A provision under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) that, once triggered, means if regulations are not adopted within two years, mining licenses could be granted under whatever rules exist.
Nauru triggered the rule in 2021 that lapsed in July of last year.
Deep Sea Conservation Coalition's, Phil McCabe, said he did not think the true gravity of the decisions at the ISA are fully appreciated.
He said mining could start in 2026 with no regulations.
"There's a train that's loaded with the world and it's headed towards the Pacific, unless it's stopped it's going to descend in the waters of the Pacific in a matter of a year or three [years]," McCabe said.
There is a growing list of nations and territory's calling for a moratorium on deep sea mining.
American Samoa has put in place a moratorium on deep sea mining on Thursday by an executive order from Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga.
The order said any mining or exploration activities related to removing minerals from the sea floor are not allowed to take place.
However, the governor said the moratorium will not stop the collection of nodules for education or scientific purposes.
Hawai'i introduced legislation earlier this month also banning seabed mining.
With others pushing for deep sea mining to happen McCabe said nations are falling into two camps at the ISA meeting.
"In a diplomatic way it's quite a tense atmosphere," he said.
"Countries have basically said they don't want any mining to begin without rules and regulations in place, but rules and regulations are not in place and if this company goes ahead and submits their application that's going against the view basically of just about the entire world."