Historic High Seas Treaty Set to Become International Law

Fri Oct 17 2025 09:52:34 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

The High Seas Treaty, a landmark agreement for ocean conservation, has garnered the required ratifications to take effect in January, aiming to protect marine biodiversity.

The High Seas Treaty has received its 60th ratification by Morocco, paving the way for its enforcement starting in January. This treaty, aimed at protecting international waters, aims to establish marine protected areas and combat the dire threat posed to marine life due to overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Environmental leaders consider this a significant achievement for global cooperation on ocean conservation.

A global agreement designed to protect the world's oceans and reverse damage to marine life is set to become international law. The High Seas Treaty received its 60th ratification by Morocco on Friday, meaning that it will now take effect from January.

The deal, which has been two decades in the making, will pave the way for international waters to be placed into marine protected areas.

Environmentalists hailed the milestone as a monumental achievement and evidence that countries can work together for environmental protection.

Covering more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement sets binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Decades of overfishing, pollution from shipping and warming oceans from climate change have damaged life below the surface. In the latest assessment of marine species, nearly 10% were found to be at risk of extinction, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Three years ago, countries agreed that 30% of the world's national and international waters - the high seas - must be protected by 2030 to help depleted marine life recover.

But protecting the high seas is challenging. No one country controls these waters and all nations have a right to ship and fish there. Currently just 1% of the high seas are protected, leaving marine life at risk of overexploitation.

In 2023, countries signed the High Seas Treaty, pledging to put 30% of these waters into Marine Protected Areas.

However, it was only able to enter force if more than 60 nations ratified it, meaning they agreed to be legally bound by it. This process can take longer than five years, but many nations expedited their approvals.

The UK introduced its bill for ratification to Parliament earlier this month. Kirsten Schuijt, director-general of the World Wide Fund for Nature, hailed the treaty as a monumental achievement for ocean conservation.

With the treaty's enforcement, countries will propose areas to be protected, which will then be voted on by the signatory nations. Critics have raised concerns about individual environmental assessments but overall see this as a significant step in ocean protection.

The ocean is crucial for the survival of all organisms on the planet. It is the largest ecosystem, estimated to contribute $2.5tn (£1.9tn) to world economies, and provides up to 80% of the oxygen we breathe.