A New Wave of High Seas Protections: Scoping Northern Seamount Ecosystems under the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Treaty

Almost two-thirds of our global oceans lie beyond national jurisdiction, known as the high seas. These areas support remarkable amounts of marine biodiversity and represent about 95% of the habitat occupied by life on Earth. Biodiversity in the high seas is facing significant threats from climate change impacts, pollution, fishing pressure, shipping, and deep-sea mining. Yet, until 2025, there was no comprehensive international policy to conserve or protect marine ecosystems in the high seas. The new Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ Agreement or BBNJ Treaty) was ratified in September 2025 and entered into force in January 2026. This landmark agreement aims to fill in the regulatory gap for the high seas by convening countries, stakeholders, and institutes to address high seas conservation and protect marine biodiversity collectively.

This Impact Project aims to support and advance initial implementation of the BBNJ Agreement. The project will analyze the New England/Corner Rise Seamounts and the Northeast Pacific Seamounts as potential sites for proposed Marine Protected Areas (MPA) or Area-Based Management Tools (ABMT) under the BBNJ Agreement. Both seamounts serve as critical, nutrient-rich habitats for deep-sea biodiversity, and create feeding grounds for marine mammals, seabirds, and commercially important fish species. To put forward a proposal for either seamount region to be protected under the BBNJ treaty, research is needed on existing and potential uses in each area, key stakeholders and sovereign governments to engage with, and relevant science to inform protections and management strategies. This Impact Project addresses all three research needs by identifying and mapping threats to seamount areas, assessing and convening relevant stakeholders, and synthesizing findings into a final report and framework for other ABMT/MPA proposals.