High Seas Treaty Achieves Ratification, Marking a New Era for the Ocean

For the first time in history, the international community has the power to create marine protected areas with the highest level of protection and to strengthen management of destructive industrial activities across almost two-thirds of the ocean that lies beyond national borders—waters that until now have been governed by a patchwork of inconsistent, weakly enforced rules with little focus on protecting marine biodiversity.  

This vast, little-known region called the high seas, which covers about 50 percent of our planet’s surface, is not just an empty big blue. It’s home to extraordinary ecosystems—from the vast Salas y Gómez and Nazca ridges in the Pacific Ocean, where sharks and tuna gather above ancient deep-sea coral ecosystems, to the aptly named Sargasso Sea in the Atlantic, where giant floating mats of algae shelter turtles and young fish. Yet it remains vulnerable to overfishing, bottom trawling, mining, pollution, and climate change. With the treaty in place, these special places finally have a chance at lasting protection.   

A once-distant goal, now a reality 

On September 23, during the opening week of the General Assembly of the United Nations in New York, ocean leaders from around the world gathered to celebrate surpassing the 60th ratification of the High Seas Treaty—the threshold needed for the treaty to legally come to life. This milestone marks more than two decades of negotiations and an extraordinary final push over the past two years as countries completed their ratification processes.  

For the first time, countries will be able to submit proposals for marine protected areas on the high seas. Importantly, the treaty also aims to strengthen the assessment and management of human activities outside protected areas and to level the playing field by improving access to science and technology for developing nations. 

To mark the moment, NRDC joined with governments across the world—including Belgium, Chile, Costa Rica, Côte d’Ivoire, France, Palau, and the European Union—as well as the Bloomberg Ocean Initiative and other leading philanthropies and NGOs in hosting a celebratory event. President Emmanuel Macron of France, President Gabriel Boric of Chile, pioneering oceanographer Sylvia Earle, Polynesian navigator Nainoa Thompson, actor and activist Sigourney Weaver, and other ocean champions lent their voices. The mood was festive but also clear-eyed: This was not an end point but the start of a new chapter in ocean protection.  

As chronicled recently in Time, NRDC has been a driving force in securing the treaty for two decades. But in many ways, our work is just beginning. 

The hard work ahead

The treaty’s entry into force is a triumph, but the real work to achieve lasting impact for the ocean begins now. First, we need to secure universal ratification to ensure consistent protections and a truly global commitment to safeguarding the ocean. Second, countries must swiftly agree on the rules that will govern decision-making, compliance, and financing—the institutional infrastructure necessary to implement the treaty. Finally, we need courageous leaders to chart the vision for protecting the ocean’s most extraordinary places.   

Encouragingly, some nations are already stepping up. Chile, together with a coalition of ambitious countries known as the “BBNJ First Movers Initiative,” have agreed to work together to advance the establishment of the first generation of marine protected areas on the high seas. Serving as the secretariat for this group, NRDC is facilitating coordination and the sharing of information, scientific data, and practical tools for countries to design strong, effective marine protections. This coalition understands that the treaty’s promise will only be fulfilled if governments act boldly—and quickly. 

For today, it is worth pausing and raising our glasses to honor what more than 60 nations have achieved: a collective choice for cooperation over conflict and stewardship over exploitation. 

The treaty is a beacon of hope: The high seas now have a chance of lasting protection.