Canada has joined a growing list of nations calling for a pause on deep-sea mining in international waters amid fears the nascent, untested industry could cause ecological devastation without further study and clear safeguards.
Three ministers, for the country’s foreign affairs, natural resources, and fisheries and oceans departments, issued a statement on Monday that “in the absence of both a comprehensive understanding of seabed mining’s environmental impacts and a robust regulatory regime”, they supported a moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining.
“The government of Canada has been clear: seabed mining should take place only if effective protection of the marine environment is provided through a rigorous regulatory structure, applying precautionary and ecosystem-based approaches, using science-based and transparent management, and ensuring effective compliance with a robust inspection mechanism,” it said.
The statement puts Canada in line with a number of European nations, scientists, environmental organisations and even car manufacturers such as BMW and Volvo, and battery maker Samsung, all of which have pledged not to use deep-sea minerals in their vehicles.
Seafood groups representing a third of the world’s tuna trade also this week called for a pause on deep-sea mining.
In February, the Canadian government said it would not authorise deep-sea mining in domestic waters amid concerns it does not have a legal framework in place to issue permits.
“Canada is a big mining country. And because one of the large players, the Metals Company, is registered here, even though it doesn’t have an office in Canada, it feels important to see Canada’s opposition; they are genuinely seen as a middle ground,” said Susanna Fuller, vice-president of conservation and projects at environmental nonprofit Oceans North.
“The fact that Canada has now joined calls for a moratorium is quite important.”
The International Seabed Authority, the quasi-UN body in charge of possible regulations, is meeting this week in Kingston, Jamaica, after a 9 July deadline to develop rules and regulations governing mining in international waters passed without a clear framework.
Companies can now apply for provisional mining licences, and while the ISA has already issued 30 licences for exploration only, no provisional commercial licences have been approved. The 36-member council will debate the issue on Friday.
In June, the European Academies Science Advisory Council warned of the “dire consequences” for marine ecosystems if plans for deep-sea mining went ahead. Experts have concerns about sediment plumes, noise, vibration and light pollution as well as possible spills of fuels and other chemicals used in the mining process.
In February, video footage from a deep-sea mining test showed sediment discharging into the ocean and raised questions over the safeguards within the industry and the effects mining could have on ecosystems that scientists are still trying to better understand. In recent months, 5,000 new species were discovered in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, the very space targeted by deep-sea mining companies.
“With the success of recent international agreements, we’re also seeing we can’t continue to exploit new environments and meet our obligations around biodiversity protection,” said Fuller.
While companies have framed the drive for mining the ocean floor as a way of easing demands on the metals needed to transition away from fossil fuels, Fuller says more can be done on land before pushing into a new frontier.
“There’s so much stuff to do on decarbonisation before we ever need to mine the deep sea. We aren’t even recycling so much of the existing rare earth metal,” she said.
“The deep sea has always been a place of wonder and now there’s the possibility it will be a place of massive exploitation. And I think people and nations are finally seeing that we can’t just continue to new environments just because a couple of companies say it’s a great idea.”