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The Ocean Just Got a Historic Deal. Will It Actually Protect Your Future? · How To Protect The Ocean

• 0:00
  The high seas
• 0:00
  treaty, promise
• 0:01
  or political
• 0:02
  theater.
• 0:04
  Nearly half of
• 0:05
  the planet is
• 0:05
  ocean beyond the
• 0:07
  national borders.
• 0:08
  For decades, it
• 0:09
  has been governed
• 0:09
  by fragmented
• 0:11
  rules and weak
• 0:12
  oversight.
• 0:13
  So when countries
• 0:14
  finally agreed to
• 0:14
  protect
• 0:15
  biodiversity on
• 0:16
  the high seas,
• 0:17
  it sounded
• 0:17
  historic.
• 0:18
  But will it
• 0:19
  change anything
• 0:20
  on the water?
• 0:21
  This is how to
• 0:22
  protect the ocean
• 0:22
  podcast, your
• 0:23
  weekly ocean
• 0:24
  news update.
• 0:25
  If you care about
• 0:25
  staying informed
• 0:26
  on the ocean
• 0:27
  every weekday,
• 0:28
  hit that follow
• 0:29
  button right now
• 0:30
  so you don't miss
• 0:31
  tomorrow's story.
• 0:32
  The high seas
• 0:32
  treaty has
• 0:33
  created the first
• 0:34
  legal mechanism
• 0:35
  to establish
• 0:36
  marine protected
• 0:36
  areas in
• 0:37
  international
• 0:38
  waters.
• 0:38
  For the first
• 0:39
  time,
• 0:39
  biodiversity
• 0:40
  protection beyond
• 0:41
  national
• 0:41
  jurisdiction has
• 0:43
  a global
• 0:43
  framework.
• 0:44
  That is
• 0:44
  significant.
• 0:46
  But the key
• 0:46
  question here is,
• 0:48
  will the high
• 0:48
  seas treaty
• 0:49
  produce real
• 0:50
  protection or
• 0:51
  remain largely
• 0:52
  symbolic like
• 0:53
  we've seen in
• 0:53
  many other
• 0:54
  agreements?
• 0:57
  Here's the
• 0:57
  problem with the
• 0:58
  high seas in
• 0:59
  general before
• 1:00
  the high treaty
• 1:00
  was ratified.
• 1:02
  Nearly two thirds
• 1:02
  of the ocean lies
• 1:03
  beyond national
• 1:04
  jurisdiction.
• 1:06
  These areas are
• 1:06
  often called
• 1:07
  areas beyond
• 1:08
  national
• 1:09
  jurisdiction
• 1:09
  or ABNG.
• 1:11
  Historically, we
• 1:12
  haven't been able
• 1:13
  to create binding
• 1:14
  MPAs beyond those
• 1:16
  national borders.
• 1:17
  Governance has
• 1:17
  been fragmented
• 1:18
  across fisheries
• 1:19
  borders, shipping
• 1:20
  rules and seabed
• 1:21
  mining
• 1:22
  authorities.
• 1:22
  Just a lot of
• 1:24
  different types
• 1:25
  of legal
• 1:27
  frameworks that
• 1:28
  haven't
• 1:28
  really worked.
• 1:30
  Industrial fishing fleets
• 1:30
  operate thousands
• 1:31
  of kilometers
• 1:32
  from home ports,
• 1:33
  are very
• 1:34
  difficult to
• 1:35
  enforce and the
• 1:36
  responsibility
• 1:36
  rests primarily
• 1:37
  on the
• 1:37
  flag states.
• 1:38
  If you don't know
• 1:39
  what a flag state
• 1:40
  is, essentially
• 1:40
  every boat has to
• 1:41
  sail
• 1:42
  under a flag.
• 1:43
  So for instance,
• 1:43
  if I registered
• 1:44
  my boat in
• 1:44
  Canada, I had to
• 1:45
  fly the Canadian
• 1:46
  flag, I run under
• 1:47
  the Canadian
• 1:47
  flag, I follow
• 1:48
  the
• 1:48
  Canadian rules.
• 1:49
  But there are
• 1:50
  other countries
• 1:51
  who do not
• 1:52
  enforce those
• 1:52
  rules for their
• 1:53
  own country.
• 1:54
  Like a lot of
• 1:55
  people will fly
• 1:56
  under like a
• 1:56
  turkey flag and
• 1:57
  they'll go around
• 1:58
  and they'll go
• 1:59
  and fish wherever
• 2:00
  they want and
• 2:01
  they won't be
• 2:02
  beholden to the
• 2:02
  country turkey
• 2:04
  because they
• 2:04
  don't really
• 2:05
  enforce the
• 2:05
  borders.
• 2:05
  I'm just using
• 2:06
  this as an
• 2:06
  example. I'm not
• 2:07
  saying Turkey
• 2:08
  doesn't enforce
• 2:08
  the borders. I'm
• 2:09
  just kind of
• 2:09
  giving an
• 2:09
  example here.
• 2:11
  But when everyone
• 2:12
  is responsible,
• 2:13
  no one is really
• 2:14
  accountable. And that's a problem.
• 2:15
  So here's what
• 2:18
  the treaty
• 2:18
  actually is set
• 2:19
  up to do. The
• 2:21
  high seas treaty
• 2:21
  formerly known as
• 2:22
  the BB and J
• 2:23
  agreement, which
• 2:24
  stands for
• 2:25
  biodiversity of
• 2:26
  areas beyond
• 2:27
  national
• 2:28
  jurisdiction.
• 2:29
  It's under the UN
• 2:30
  Convention of the
• 2:31
  Law of the Sea
• 2:32
  and establishes
• 2:32
  this a process to
• 2:34
  designate MPAs in
• 2:35
  international
• 2:36
  waters.
• 2:37
  Environmental
• 2:37
  impact assessment
• 2:39
  requirements for
• 2:40
  the high seas
• 2:41
  activities.
• 2:41
  Provisions for
• 2:43
  sharing marine
• 2:44
  genetic
• 2:44
  resources,
• 2:45
  capacity building
• 2:46
  and technology
• 2:47
  transfer for
• 2:47
  developing state
• 2:48
  nations, a
• 2:50
  conference of
• 2:50
  parties structure
• 2:51
  to a conference
• 2:52
  of party
• 2:53
  structure.
• 2:53
  So a cop
• 2:54
  structure to
• 2:55
  guide
• 2:55
  implementation.
• 2:56
  So we've seen cop
• 2:57
  structures in
• 2:57
  other agreements
• 2:58
  like the climate
• 2:59
  like the Paris
• 2:59
  Accord, the
• 3:00
  climate change
• 3:01
  agreement.
• 3:02
  They don't really
• 3:02
  go very well.
• 3:03
  Same with oil and
• 3:04
  gas. Same with
• 3:04
  the plastics
• 3:05
  treaty. These
• 3:05
  cops do not
• 3:06
  really work very
• 3:07
  well. And that
• 3:08
  could be a
• 3:08
  problem. We'll
• 3:08
  talk about that in just a second.
• 3:09
  The treaty
• 3:10
  required
• 3:11
  ratification by
• 3:11
  60 countries to
• 3:12
  enter into force
• 3:13
  and it actually
• 3:14
  entered into
• 3:14
  force on January
• 3:15
  17th, 2026. It's
• 3:18
  not automatic
• 3:19
  protection. It's
• 3:20
  a framework for
• 3:21
  potential
• 3:21
  protection.
• 3:23
  Now here's why
• 3:23
  the high seas
• 3:24
  treaty is
• 3:25
  historically
• 3:25
  significant. For
• 3:26
  decades
• 3:27
  conservationists
• 3:28
  argued that the
• 3:29
  high seas
• 3:29
  biodiversity was
• 3:30
  lacking a legal
• 3:31
  standing. This
• 3:32
  treaty
• 3:32
  changed that.
• 3:33
  It creates a
• 3:35
  legal authority
• 3:35
  to establish
• 3:36
  MPAs. Mechanisms
• 3:38
  to assess
• 3:38
  cumulative
• 3:39
  environmental
• 3:39
  impacts. So
• 3:40
  that's over a lot
• 3:41
  of different
• 3:42
  things. It could
• 3:42
  be shipping, it
• 3:43
  could be
• 3:43
  fisheries, it
• 3:44
  could be anything
• 3:45
  you really want.
• 3:46
  Marine pollution
• 3:47
  could be
• 3:47
  anything.
• 3:48
  And a governance
• 3:49
  structure that
• 3:49
  can align over
• 3:50
  time. This aligns
• 3:51
  with the global
• 3:52
  30 by 30
• 3:52
  biodiversity
• 3:53
  targets. And
• 3:54
  without a high
• 3:55
  seas framework,
• 3:56
  30% of global
• 3:56
  protection was
• 3:57
  mathematically
• 3:58
  impossible.
• 3:59
  But here's the
• 4:00
  problem. You can
• 4:01
  have a legal
• 4:01
  framework, but if
• 4:02
  you don't have
• 4:02
  enforcement, like
• 4:03
  we talked about
• 4:03
  in the last two
• 4:04
  days, we have a
• 4:05
  problem. It gets
• 4:07
  really
• 4:07
  complicated when
• 4:08
  we don't have
• 4:09
  enforcement.
• 4:11
  There is no,
• 4:11
  there's no global
• 4:12
  Navy. Like
• 4:13
  there's no UN
• 4:14
  body that will go
• 4:15
  around and
• 4:16
  provide
• 4:16
  enforcement. Enforcement
• 4:17
  relies largely on
• 4:19
  the flag states
• 4:19
  policing their
• 4:20
  own vessels. Some
• 4:22
  distant water
• 4:22
  fleets operate
• 4:23
  under flags of
• 4:24
  convenience.
• 4:25
  So you'll have
• 4:26
  like some
• 4:26
  fisheries that
• 4:27
  will go some
• 4:28
  fisheries vessels
• 4:29
  or fleets that
• 4:29
  will go way, way
• 4:30
  far off their
• 4:31
  borders. Nobody
• 4:32
  can really see
• 4:33
  them except for
• 4:33
  satellites and
• 4:34
  maybe other
• 4:34
  countries and
• 4:35
  they'll be able
• 4:36
  to act the way
• 4:36
  they want, but
• 4:37
  they may not fly
• 4:38
  under the flag
• 4:39
  that they're
• 4:39
  actually, you
• 4:40
  know, stay in.
• 4:41
  They're just
• 4:41
  registered under
• 4:42
  a different flag
• 4:43
  that may not have
• 4:44
  the same legal
• 4:45
  frameworks or the
• 4:46
  same enforcement
• 4:47
  ability to
• 4:48
  prosecute these
• 4:49
  ships. So they
• 4:50
  just end up doing
• 4:50
  whatever they
• 4:51
  want and they get
• 4:51
  away with
• 4:52
  everything.
• 4:53
  And then of
• 4:53
  course monitoring
• 4:54
  of all these
• 4:55
  distance fleets
• 4:56
  really depends on
• 4:57
  satellite
• 4:58
  tracking and
• 4:59
  reporting
• 4:59
  compliance. If a
• 5:01
  country fails to
• 5:01
  enforce
• 5:02
  violations
• 5:02
  against their own
• 5:03
  vessels,
• 5:04
  accountability
• 5:04
  mechanisms are
• 5:06
  limited. Legal
• 5:07
  authority does
• 5:07
  not guarantee
• 5:09
  compliance.
• 5:10
  Now, of course,
• 5:11
  with the high
• 5:11
  seas treaty, you
• 5:12
  know, from an
• 5:13
  ecological
• 5:14
  standpoint, it
• 5:14
  makes sense,
• 5:15
  right? We see the
• 5:16
  high seas treaty
• 5:16
  and be like, this
• 5:17
  is going to
• 5:17
  protect
• 5:18
  biodiversity.
• 5:19
  We're going to
• 5:19
  get MPAs. We're
• 5:20
  going to get
• 5:20
  environmental
• 5:21
  impact
• 5:21
  assessments on a
• 5:22
  lot of different
• 5:22
  things that are
• 5:23
  happening along
• 5:24
  like in the high
• 5:25
  seas, like deep
• 5:26
  sea mining,
• 5:27
  fisheries, marine
• 5:28
  pollution, all
• 5:29
  these different
• 5:29
  types of things
• 5:30
  that could affect
• 5:31
  the ocean.
• 5:31
  So from an
• 5:31
  ecological
• 5:32
  standpoint as a
• 5:33
  scientist, as an
• 5:34
  ecologist, this
• 5:34
  is great. Like
• 5:35
  this is great
• 5:36
  news. But then we
• 5:37
  don't really
• 5:37
  factor in
• 5:38
  industrial
• 5:39
  pressure or
• 5:39
  geopolitics,
• 5:40
  right? So the
• 5:41
  high seas are
• 5:42
  economically
• 5:43
  valuable. The
• 5:44
  industrial tuna
• 5:45
  fleets operate
• 5:46
  extensively in international
• 5:47
  waters. Deep sea
• 5:48
  mining interests
• 5:49
  are expanding.
• 5:50
  We're seeing it
• 5:50
  in the US and
• 5:51
  we're seeing it
• 5:52
  in like places
• 5:52
  like Norway,
• 5:53
  although they've
• 5:54
  banned it for a
• 5:54
  little while, but
• 5:55
  we're starting to
• 5:55
  see interest from
• 5:56
  a lot of
• 5:56
  different
• 5:57
  countries. Marine
• 5:58
  genetic resources
• 5:59
  are commercially
• 5:59
  valuable for medicine.
• 6:00
  Right? These are
• 6:02
  very important
• 6:02
  things or for
• 6:03
  even like
• 6:04
  clothing and all
• 6:04
  these different
• 6:05
  types of things
• 6:06
  that we could use
• 6:07
  all this genetic
• 6:08
  material to make
• 6:10
  our lives better
• 6:10
  and make a ton of
• 6:12
  money. Shipping
• 6:14
  lanes are
• 6:14
  critical for
• 6:15
  global trade, but
• 6:16
  shipping lanes,
• 6:17
  if they're not
• 6:18
  done properly,
• 6:18
  can get in the
• 6:19
  way of marine
• 6:21
  mammals like the
• 6:22
  North Atlantic
• 6:22
  right whale,
• 6:23
  which is
• 6:23
  critically
• 6:24
  endangered.
• 6:25
  And let's be
• 6:25
  honest, these
• 6:26
  whales don't
• 6:26
  necessarily see
• 6:27
  boundaries. So if
• 6:27
  they go beyond
• 6:29
  the 200 nautical
• 6:29
  miles of the US
• 6:30
  or even Canada,
• 6:31
  they are open and
• 6:32
  anything can hit
• 6:33
  it. Political
• 6:34
  resistance can
• 6:35
  emerge when
• 6:35
  protection
• 6:36
  intersects with
• 6:37
  economic
• 6:38
  interest. We're
• 6:38
  seeing it now in
• 6:39
  the US where
• 6:40
  fisheries
• 6:40
  protections are
• 6:41
  being taken away
• 6:41
  because there's a
• 6:43
  political
• 6:43
  interest to open
• 6:44
  up the economy,
• 6:45
  the fisheries
• 6:45
  economy.
• 6:46
  That's going to
• 6:46
  affect a lot of
• 6:47
  different
• 6:47
  animals,
• 6:48
  including marine
• 6:49
  mammals, sea
• 6:49
  turtles, sharks,
• 6:50
  tuna, all these
• 6:51
  different types
• 6:52
  of fish that are
• 6:52
  commercially
• 6:53
  important, but
• 6:53
  also the food web
• 6:54
  in general
• 6:55
  because all these
• 6:56
  protections have
• 6:57
  been taken away.
• 6:58
  Ocean governance
• 6:58
  is not just
• 6:59
  ecological, it's
• 7:00
  geopolitical.
• 7:01
  So what does real
• 7:02
  success look like
• 7:04
  under the high
• 7:05
  seas treaty? I
• 7:06
  think it would
• 7:06
  include rapid
• 7:07
  ratification by
• 7:08
  at least 60
• 7:09
  countries, which
• 7:10
  we've gotten. So
• 7:11
  that's great.
• 7:12
  Designation of
• 7:13
  large
• 7:13
  ecologically
• 7:14
  meaningful high
• 7:15
  seas and PAs,
• 7:17
  integration of
• 7:17
  satellite
• 7:18
  monitoring into
• 7:19
  compliance
• 7:19
  systems to help
• 7:20
  enforce those
• 7:21
  marine protected
• 7:21
  areas and
• 7:22
  transparent
• 7:23
  reporting and
• 7:24
  independent
• 7:24
  review mechanisms
• 7:25
  from NGOs like
• 7:26
  Global Fishing
• 7:27
  Watch and
• 7:27
  other places.
• 7:28
  And then strong
• 7:29
  coordination with
• 7:30
  regional
• 7:31
  fisheries
• 7:31
  management
• 7:32
  organization,
• 7:33
  RFMOs, which will
• 7:34
  help and just
• 7:35
  coordinate all
• 7:36
  these different
• 7:36
  activities to
• 7:37
  know who's
• 7:37
  working and where
• 7:38
  and how they can
• 7:39
  enforce these
• 7:41
  activities.
• 7:42
  The treaty
• 7:42
  provides
• 7:42
  structure,
• 7:43
  implementation
• 7:44
  determines
• 7:44
  outcome. Now
• 7:45
  here's the risk
• 7:46
  when you put in
• 7:48
  the politics of
• 7:49
  it all, the
• 7:49
  political
• 7:49
  theater, if you will.
• 7:50
  So the risk is
• 7:52
  that countries
• 7:52
  ratify
• 7:53
  symbolically, but
• 7:55
  delay
• 7:55
  implementation.
• 7:56
  This happens a
• 7:57
  lot of times.
• 7:57
  You'll see
• 7:58
  countries just
• 7:58
  sign on, be like,
• 7:59
  hey, we signed
• 8:00
  on, we're down
• 8:01
  with this
• 8:01
  kind of thing.
• 8:01
  But then they
• 8:02
  don't do anything
• 8:03
  about it. MPAs
• 8:04
  are designated
• 8:04
  without strong
• 8:05
  restrictions.
• 8:06
  Enforcement
• 8:07
  remains weak,
• 8:08
  which the MPAs
• 8:08
  are worthless.
• 8:09
  They become paper
• 8:10
  parks and area
• 8:11
  targets are
• 8:12
  emphasized over protection quality.
• 8:12
  So they're trying
• 8:14
  to look at how
• 8:14
  much coverage we
• 8:15
  can get, but
• 8:16
  doesn't mean we
• 8:16
  can enforce them
• 8:17
  or protect them.
• 8:18
  So they, again,
• 8:18
  they become paper
• 8:19
  parks, not
• 8:20
  quality parks.
• 8:22
  We have seen this
• 8:22
  pattern before in
• 8:23
  coastal MPAs. So
• 8:24
  it's not new and
• 8:26
  then having it in
• 8:26
  the high seas
• 8:27
  makes it even
• 8:28
  more difficult
• 8:28
  because it's in
• 8:29
  remote areas that
• 8:30
  people are not generally around.
• 8:32
  The lesson from
• 8:33
  previous episodes
• 8:34
  still apply.
• 8:36
  Protection works
• 8:36
  when it's real.
• 8:38
  If you want clear
• 8:39
  science based
• 8:39
  breakdowns of
• 8:40
  ocean policy
• 8:41
  every weekday,
• 8:42
  follow this show
• 8:43
  if you don't want
• 8:44
  to miss what
• 8:44
  comes next.
• 8:46
  Let's just frame
• 8:46
  it all for the
• 8:47
  final show. The
• 8:49
  final thought on
• 8:50
  this episode. The
• 8:52
  high seas treaty
• 8:52
  is a milestone.
• 8:54
  There's no doubt
• 8:54
  about that. But
• 8:55
  milestones are
• 8:56
  not outcomes.
• 8:57
  For the first
• 8:58
  time, the global
• 8:59
  community has a
• 8:59
  legal pathway to
• 9:01
  protect
• 9:01
  biodiversity in
• 9:02
  international
• 9:02
  waters that
• 9:03
  actually matters.
• 9:05
  But here's the
• 9:05
  truth. The ocean
• 9:06
  does not respond
• 9:07
  to agreements. It
• 9:09
  responds to
• 9:09
  enforcement. It
• 9:10
  responds to
• 9:11
  compliance and it
• 9:12
  responds to
• 9:13
  reduced
• 9:13
  extraction.
• 9:14
  The treaty
• 9:15
  creates
• 9:16
  possibility.
• 9:17
  Political will
• 9:18
  determines the
• 9:19
  reality. The high
• 9:20
  seas have been
• 9:20
  largely invisible
• 9:21
  for centuries.
• 9:23
  Now they are on a
• 9:23
  policy stage. The
• 9:25
  question is
• 9:25
  whether
• 9:25
  protection will
• 9:27
  move from paper
• 9:28
  to practice.
• 9:30
  I'd love to hear
• 9:31
  what you think
• 9:32
  about this
• 9:32
  episode. Hit me
• 9:33
  up if you want to
• 9:34
  give me your
• 9:35
  feedback. Let me
• 9:36
  know at
• 9:36
  speakupforblue.com
• 9:38
  forward slash
• 9:38
  feedback at
• 9:39
  speakupforblue.com
• 9:41
  forward slash
• 9:41
  feedback.
• 9:42
  You can let me
• 9:43
  know either by
• 9:44
  leaving a
• 9:44
  voicemail or you
• 9:46
  can write
• 9:46
  something down. I
• 9:47
  would love to
• 9:47
  hear what you
• 9:48
  think because you
• 9:49
  know, this is the
• 9:50
  beginning of a
• 9:50
  conversation and
• 9:51
  I want to
• 9:51
  continue it with
• 9:52
  you each and
• 9:53
  every one of you
• 9:54
  who are listening
• 9:54
  to this episode.
• 9:55
  I want to thank
• 9:55
  you so much for
• 9:56
  joining me on
• 9:57
  today's episode
• 9:57
  of the how to
• 9:58
  protect the ocean
• 9:59
  podcast. I'm your
• 10:00
  host, Andrew
• 10:00
  Lewin. Have a
• 10:01
  great day. We'll
• 10:01
  talk to you next
• 10:02
  time and happy
• 10:03
  conservation.