14 Jul 2026
Photo credit: Adobe Stock The UK has ratified the High Seas Treaty, the international agreement that for the first time allows marine protected areas to be created in the ocean beyond national borders. The Foreign Secretary signed the document required for ratification, which was formally deposited with the United Nations in New York on 10 July, completing […]
30 Jun 2026
Photo by Stanislav Lvovsky The 11th Our Ocean Conference closed in Mombasa, Kenya on 18 June with 320 new commitments valued at $6.4 billion, announced by more than 100 governments, businesses and civil society organisations across what Mongabay reported was a gathering of 6,000 delegates. It was the first time in the conference’s 11 editions that it […]
29 Apr 2025
Image description: Three European flags in a line. Image by Marco / Pexels. The European Commission is pushing ahead with a new directive to bring the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement into EU law – a move Fishing Daily reports as an attempt to both show leadership ahead of the UN Ocean Conference […]
25 Jun 2024
Governments will meet at the United Nations HQ in New York this week to work on the UN Ocean Treaty, for the first time since it opened for signatures in September 2023. The Conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity beyond areas of national jurisdiction treaty, also commonly known as the BBNJ or High […]
18 Jun 2024
The European Council – an institution of the 27-member European Union which defines the general political direction and priorities of the EU – has adopted a decision to conclude the United Nations agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ), also known as the ‘High Seas Treaty’. With this decision, the EU is now ready to formally deposit […]
30 Apr 2024
The European Union has voted in favour of ratifying the UN High Seas Treaty. The treaty aims to protect marine life in areas that are outside of countries’ maritime borders including the high seas and the seabed. The high seas are areas of the ocean that lie beyond national boundaries, with only 1% of these […]
20 Jun 2023
The world’s first international treaty to protect the high seas was adopted at the United Nations on Monday 19th June. The commonly referred to ‘High Seas Treaty’, or more fully the Intergovernmental Conference on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ / ABNJ), is the legal framework that aims to ensure the conservation and […]
21 Feb 2023
