Opinion: Two decades of Pacific fisheries science exist. The question is whether the High Seas Treaty’s first major summit will use it as a blueprint to protect biodiversity in international waters.
By Rhea Moss-Christian in Devex // 23 June 2026
The High Seas Treaty — formally known as the BBNJ Agreement — aims to do something the international community has never achieved before: create a system for protecting biodiversity and governing human activity across the vast areas of ocean beyond national jurisdiction. But rules alone will not safeguard the high seas. What the treaty needs now is the evidence and institutions to turn ambition into action.
When the treaty’s first Conference of the Parties convenes in January 2027 to map how it will work in practice, it will face a question that no amount of political will can resolve on its own: Where does the knowledge come from?
Healthy oceans require more than good intentions. They require data — long-run, verified, ocean-wide data — and the capacity to turn that data into decisions that last.
Read more: https://www.devex.com/news/will-the-high-seas-treaty-use-our-decades-of-pacific-fishing-data-112768
Photo by: Pacific Community (SPC)