International Seabed Authority

New Capabilities

As of May 2026: Actively negotiating the Mining Code that would govern commercial deep-sea mining

Scientists have identified 24 new species of amphipod crustaceans in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, a Pacific seabed region the size of the United States at the center of the deep-sea mining debate. Among them is an entirely new superfamily, Mirabestioidea — a previously unknown evolutionary branch equivalent to discovering a new mammal order.

Updated May 30

Rule Changes

As of May 2026: Negotiating mining regulations, facing pressure from all sides

A five-year research expedition has cataloged 788 species living 4,000 meters beneath the Pacific Ocean—90% of them previously unknown to science—just as the race to mine the same seabed accelerates. The study, published in February 2026, documents a 37% decline in animal abundance wherever mining equipment touched the seafloor. It's the first systematic look at what commercial extraction would destroy.

Updated May 27