International Seabed Authority

They handed the conference a petition from more than 1,000 people across 34 countries and 56 indigenous groups calling for a ban to the deep-sea mining industry.

PMN News reports Hawaiian activist Solomon Kaho’ohalahala addressed the delegates with a traditional chant explaining "the ocean is our country and we come from the deepest depths of the seas".

He says indigenous people who rely on the ocean in their lives need to be considered. 

“We are calling for an immediate ban on deep sea mining because we need drastic changes in the way we manage our oceans. 

President Baron Waqa told a special 25^th anniversary sitting of the assembly of the ISA in Jamaica that the regulations must be in harmony with the Convention on the Law of the Sea.

“They must balance commercially viable mining of the seabed with protection of the ocean ecology for the benefit of mankind as a while,” he said.

In March this year, the Legal and Technical Commission, a 30-member expert advisory body of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) released the draft regulations on exploitation of the mineral resources in the international seabed area.

The MOU expresses the mutual interests of SPC and ISA in developing regional and national frameworks that support the interests of both organisation’s Pacific member states, and efforts to regulate and manage deep sea mineral activities in ocean areas beyond national jurisdiction; conducting marine scientific research and analysis results; and participating in capacity-building initiatives and sharing seabed resources information.

Chief Geoscientist at SPC, Dr Kifle Kahsai, said the MOU will strengthen partnership of the two organisations.