īlue Marine is asking the British public to sign a petition calling on the UK Government to join countries around the world in supporting a global moratorium on deep-sea mining. As early as July this year, the world’s first commercial deep-sea mining application could be accepted by the International Seabed Authority ( ISA), the intergovernmental organization that manages the ocean floor. Industry is increasingly attracted by the possibility of mining the seabed for materials such as cobalt, copper and manganese, which are found in its crust and nodules. Scientific expeditions are shedding light on a world unlike anywhere else on Earth, with corals that can live more than 4,000 years, microscopic worms that could hold the key to understanding evolution and metal-armoured snails inspiring new engineering models.īut the deep sea is in imminent danger.

More than 5,000 new species have recently been discovered living in an area of the seabed considered a hot spot for deep sea mining.

Yet we are only just beginning to explore the fascinating ecosystems and unique species that thrive in this fragile world. Covering around 65 per cent of our planet, the deep sea contains some of the last truly pristine places on Earth.

Deep sea dredging mining