Help create a High Seas Treaty
Fish don’t care about borders, so why should our marine protection efforts only follow national boundaries?
Beyond the coastal waters surrounding any country, our high seas are more than just mythical places. Underpinning the health of our planet, they’re teeming with life, providing the food we eat and the air we breathe.
These vast ocean regions are under increasing pressure from overfishing, deep-sea mining and pollution.
Yet less than 1% of our high seas are protected!
We have an opportunity to turn things around.
UN member states are inching forward towards developing a High Seas Treaty. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to establish an international agreement to protect and preserve our global oceans.
To achieve something as big and impactful as a High Seas Treaty, we need Australia to take on a leadership role for global ocean protection.
By letting the Government know how important global ocean protection is, we can ensure Australia leads from the front.
If we’re successful, a High Seas Treaty could allow the creation of high seas marine parks, providing the protection and management our oceans need.
Help us get this critically important treaty over the line.
Add your name today!
Letter text
Dear Minister Payne and Minister Ley (cc Senator Wong, Josh Wilson MP, Senator Whish Wilson and Janet Rice)
AUSTRALIA’S ROLE IN CREATING A HIGH SEAS TREATY
As a vast island nation surrounded by high seas and a proud history of leading the way on ocean conservation, Australia must take a leadership role in the completion of the groundbreaking global effort to establish a High Seas Treaty with the capacity to create marine protected areas.
Beyond our coastal shores, past the jurisdiction of any country, the high seas are home to a vast array of species and unique ecosystems that help support life on Earth.
They boast abundant fish stocks, are where the superhighways for ocean giants like whales and sharks are found, and harbour remarkable underwater worlds made up of deep water corals, massive canyons, deep sea vents, remarkable animals and other wonders that are only yet to be discovered.
These fragile waters face severe and sustained pressure from industrial fishing, impacts of climate change, deep-sea mining and pollution putting entire food webs at risk. The High Seas urgently need a system of conservation governance.
I urge you to do all you can to ensure Australia actively supports a High Seas Treaty that allows for the establishment of marine protected areas with associated management measures and creates a robust environmental impact assessment process that ensures our high seas are managed sustainably.
Australia should be proud of its historic role as a leader in marine conservation and management. As international momentum builds towards a bold vision for the protection of the world’s natural environment, I urge you to continue our ocean legacy by taking a leadership role in the completion of a strong High Seas Treaty.
Yours sincerely,
Talks are underway to create a High Seas Treaty, an international agreement to protect and preserve our global oceans.
These vast ocean regions are under increasing pressure from overfishing, deep-sea mining and pollution.
Help us get this critically important treaty over the line!