Deep-Sea Mining Regulations Stall at ISA as Scientists Catalog 788 Unknown Species in the Zone Slated for Extraction
The ISA adjourned without completing deep-sea mining rules as a Nature study found 90 percent of species in the target zone remain unknown and the US fast-tracks its own permits.
Overview
The International Seabed Authority adjourned its 31st annual session on March 19, 2026, without establishing a timeline for completing the mining code that would govern commercial extraction of polymetallic nodules from the deep ocean floor. The regulatory impasse arrives at a moment of acute tension: a five-year study published in Nature Ecology and Evolution in February cataloged 788 species from the Clarion-Clipperton Zone between Mexico and Hawaii, of which roughly 90 percent remain formally undescribed, while a separate analysis of mining disturbance at the same site showed a 37 percent decline in animal abundance and a 32 percent drop in species diversity along equipment paths. Meanwhile, the United States, which is not an ISA member and has not ratified the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, is accelerating its own permitting process, with NOAA approving a rule in January that allows companies to apply for exploration and exploitation licenses simultaneously.
The Biodiversity That Mining Would Disturb
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone spans roughly two million square miles of the Pacific Ocean floor at depths approaching 4,000 meters. Its seabed is scattered with fist-sized polymetallic nodules rich in cobalt, manganese, nickel, and copper, metals considered essential for batteries, semiconductors, and the broader energy transition. But the same terrain supports an ecosystem that scientists are only beginning to understand.
Over 160 days at sea across five years, an international team led by Thomas Dahlgren and Helena Wiklund of the University of Gothenburg collected 4,350 animals larger than 0.3 millimeters and identified 788 distinct species, including a previously unknown solitaire coral. Adrian Glover, a senior author from the Natural History Museum in London, noted that the research team has “virtually no idea what lives” in the 30 percent of the zone that has been set aside as protected areas, as reported by ScienceDaily. A broader synthesis of over 100,000 records from prior expeditions has identified 5,580 species across the zone, of which 5,142 have never been formally named or described, according to Scientific American.
The study also documented the ecological consequences of a simulated mining trial. In areas where equipment had passed over the seabed, animal numbers fell by 37 percent and species diversity dropped by 32 percent. The damage extended beyond the immediate path of the machinery: sediment plumes generated by nodule collection drifted across adjacent habitats, disrupting filter-feeding organisms and potentially affecting the food web all the way up to whales and sea turtles, as researcher Steve Haddock told NPR. Some deep-sea creatures depend directly on the nodules themselves for survival. The Casper octopus, for example, lays its eggs exclusively on the mineral formations.
A Regulatory Vacuum on Two Fronts
The ISA was established under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea to manage mineral resources in international waters for the benefit of all humanity. It has issued 31 exploration contracts for the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, but the mining code that would govern actual extraction remains incomplete. The March 2026 session in Kingston, Jamaica, left unresolved several fundamental questions: how to set environmental thresholds, how to share resource revenues among member states, and whether the code should cover all deep-sea mining or only polymetallic nodule extraction.
ISA Secretary-General Leticia Carvalho expressed confidence that the rules would advance within 2026, arguing that a completed code would make the United States “a less attractive option for companies” seeking to operate outside international oversight. But conservation analysts were more skeptical. Pradeep Singh of the Oceano Azul Foundation assessed completion as “highly unlikely” this year, noting substantial work remains before the authority can adopt “robust regulations.” Julian Jackson of the Pew Charitable Trusts argued the code “shouldn’t be rushed” given the inherently destructive nature of the industry.
Forty ISA member states, including Canada, have called for a moratorium on deep-sea mining until the ecological risks are better understood. More than 800 marine scientists have signed an open letter urging a pause.
The United States, however, is moving in the opposite direction. In January 2026, NOAA approved a rule allowing companies to apply simultaneously for exploration and exploitation licenses, collapsing what had previously been a two-phase process with separate environmental reviews. Canadian firm The Metals Company filed the first consolidated application the same month, targeting a 2027 start date. The Trump administration has framed seabed mining as a strategic imperative to “counter China’s growing influence over seabed mineral resources,” and is considering opening areas around American Samoa and Guam for extraction, a prospect that has alarmed Pacific Island leaders. Rebecca Loomis of the Natural Resources Defense Council told NPR that the approach was reckless: “This is a brand new industry globally and yet, we’re cutting down all these procedures.”
What Remains Unknown
The Nature study’s authors emphasized that their findings, while the largest biological survey ever conducted in the region, still represent a small fraction of the zone’s total area. Whether the species decline observed during the mining trial is reversible over time, or whether disturbed seabed ecosystems can recover at all given the geological timescales on which polymetallic nodules form, remains an open question. Nodules grow at rates of millimeters per million years, meaning any habitat destruction would be effectively permanent on human timescales.
The environmental impact of brine and sediment plumes at depth is also poorly characterized. Preliminary data suggest these plumes can travel hundreds of meters from the point of disturbance, but their effects on deep-water column ecosystems and the organisms that depend on them have not been studied at commercial mining scales.
Equally uncertain is whether the ISA can maintain its relevance as the governing body for international seabed resources if major nations proceed unilaterally. The United States has historically followed ISA standards despite not being a member, but the January rule change marks a significant departure from that norm.
Looking Ahead
The ISA will reconvene later in 2026 for the second part of its 31st session. The outcome will determine whether the international community can establish environmental guardrails before commercial extraction begins, or whether the regulatory vacuum will be filled by national policies that prioritize mineral access over ecological precaution. With The Metals Company targeting 2027 operations and the Trump administration pushing to open new areas for mining, the window for international coordination is narrowing. For the hundreds of unnamed species clinging to polymetallic nodules on the Pacific floor, the clock is already ticking.