#SUSScoop | So the Ocean is Finally Getting a Treaty 🌊

Breaking down the High Seas Treaty and why January 2026 matters

Okay, let’s #SUSitOut. The High Seas Biodiversity Treaty, officially the BBNJ Agreement under UNCLOS, is about to actually kick in on January 17, 2026. Basically the ocean is getting its own treaty. When I first saw this, my reaction was exactly what yours probably is right now: Wait, wasn’t the ocean already protected?

Here’s the wild part: 60% of the global ocean, which is two-thirds of our planet’s ocean, doesn’t belong to ANY country. Everything beyond a country’s 200-nautical-mile Exclusive Economic Zone and continental shelf is the “high seas,” also called “areas beyond national jurisdiction.” No one had clear responsibility there. It was like a giant free-for-all: you could fish, dump, mine, trawl or use marine life, and nobody could really hold you accountable. Over half of Earth had no single binding protection.

This treaty changes that! It was adopted by the UN General Assembly on June 19, 2023, opened for signature on September 20, 2023, and needed 60 countries to ratify. Morocco became the 60th on September 19, 2025, which triggered the 120-day countdown to January 17, 2026. Fun fact: Australia signed it on day one after years of pushing for this outcome.

Why this matters: the high seas are home to some stuff all countries are after, including critical minerals for EV batteries and other low-carbon tech plus marine genetic resources increasingly sought by pharmaceuticals, biotech and food industries. Without a binding treaty the high seas have been managed only by a patchwork of regional fisheries agreements, shipping conventions and a few scattered marine protected areas. This new agreement finally fills those gaps.

What’s actually inside the treaty?
1. A process to establish marine protected areas on the high seas based on scientific evidence.
2. Rules for sharing benefits from marine genetic resources (think deep-sea bacteria, sponges, corals) used in medicine, cosmetics, biotech and food.
3. Environmental impact assessments required for big activities like deep-sea mining beyond national borders.
4. Capacity-building and technology transfer so developing nations can monitor and conserve these areas too.

It’s crazy to think that until now, more than half the ocean basically had no real safety net, so how were any of us planning to protect and conserve the ocean in the first place, let alone the whole planet. This is the first ever global, legally binding agreement to protect biodiversity and manage resources on the high seas. It won’t fix everything overnight, but it’s a huge step towards us achieving our sustainability goals, so January 17, 2026 is going to go down in the books! Crazy, right?

Here are the four sources I used for this article. Feel free to explore them for further reading and deeper insight:

[1] https://www.wri.org/insights/high-seas-treaty-explainer
[2] https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/06/1137857
[3] https://2021-2025.state.gov/high-seas-treaty-frequently-asked-questions/
[4] https://www.dcceew.gov.au/environment/marine/high-seas-biodiversity-treaty

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