High Seas a Vast and Vital Place
The high seas cover over 60% of our oceans and nearly half of Earth’s surface. They seem endless and powerful. But today, they face huge risks. The high seas are areas beyond any one country’s control. They have the greatest carbon sink in the world and are located far from the coast. With an average depth of about 4,000 meters, these seas are deep. They store carbon and help keep Earth’s air and climate balanced.
The high seas are home to many animals. Whales, sharks, turtles, and huge schools of tuna cross these waters on their long journeys. The high seas are a place of wonder. They play a big role in the world’s health.
Silent Workers of the Ocean
The high seas have amazing creatures that do important work. Billions of small fish and tiny animals live in a zone called the mesopelagic zone. It goes from 200 to 1,000 meters deep. Every night, these creatures swim up to eat near the surface. In the day, they swim down again. When they go down, they carry carbon from the surface to the deep ocean. This keeps carbon out of the air and slows down climate change.
There’s also the nutrient pump. Big animals like sperm whales and bigeye tuna dive deep to eat. They carry nutrients with them when they reappear. Plankton absorbs carbon from the atmosphere and grows thanks to their waste. This makes the ocean a powerful friend in the fight against climate change.
The Growing Danger in High Seas
But this balance is at risk. Fishing boats have been working in the high seas for hundreds of years. At first, they hunted whales. Now, they catch fish, sharks, and squids. As time passed, fishing grew faster and bigger. More boats and better tools made it easier to catch more fish. But this has hurt the high seas.
Climate change is making things even worse. Warmer water means fewer nutrients and less oxygen. Big fish like sharks and tuna have less space to live because there is less oxygen. They swim closer to the surface to find air. But that’s where fishing boats are, so more fish get caught. They also grow slower and smaller, making it harder for fish to bounce back.
The threat doesn’t stop there. Some people want to start deep-sea mining in the high seas. They want to dig up the seabed for minerals. But this could break the ocean’s carbon sink and hurt animals we barely know.
The Missing Protection
The high seas have little protection. Less than 1% of the high seas is safe from fishing and other damage. This is due to the fact that these waters do not have a single set of rules. Nations are free to do as they like. In 2023, the UN did create a new convention to safeguard the high seas. But so far, only 28 out of 60 countries have said yes. Even where there are rules, it’s hard to check if people follow them.
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High-seas fishing doesn’t even help much with feeding the world. It makes up less than 6% of the world’s fish catch. Most of the catch goes to rich countries, not to people who need food. These fishing trips are only possible because governments give out huge amounts of money—$4.2 billion in 2014—to help pay for fuel and gear. This means taxpayers are paying to hurt the ocean.
The methods they use to catch fish are also harmful. Boats use drifting fish devices that float in the water. These kill seabirds, turtles, and millions of sharks. Most of these devices end up lost or dumped in the sea, making the damage worse.
There are also problems for the people who work on these boats. Many get paid very little. Some even work in terrible conditions. Reports say some workers are forced to stay on boats for months, working in dangerous conditions.
Fishing in deeper parts of the ocean would make things worse. The animals there help store carbon, and they are already in trouble. If we keep fishing them, they may never recover.
The high seas are the world’s biggest life-support system. They keep our climate in balance and are home to amazing creatures. But they are in real danger. Without strong rules and real action, we risk losing the high seas and the life they protect. The time to stop the damage is running out.
