Daily Archives: June 9, 2021

As President Joe Bidens administration moves to restore U.S. global leadership on the environment, it cannot afford to ignore the health of oceans. It must spearhead the successful conclusion of negotiations on aU.N. high seas biodiversity convention, which are currently adrift. To bring this treaty into port, the United States will need to forge global agreement on several contentious issues. It will also need to temperits neuralgic opposition to legally binding multilateral commitments, recognizing that the treaty poses no threat to U.S. sovereignty and is deeply in American interests.

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Although not entirely lawless, the high seas are poorly governed bya fragmentary patchwork of regulatory schemescovering everything from migratory birds and regional fisheries to deep-sea mining and pollution from ships. The biggest gap in oceans governance is the absence of a comprehensive agreement to conserve and sustainably manage marine living resources and ecosystems on the high seas, which are experiencing catastrophic declines as technological advances permit their unprecedented exploitation. Already, some 40 percent of the worlds oceans have beenseverely altered by human activity; only 3 percent can beconsidered pristine.

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Global Governance

Oceans and Seas

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Joe Biden

A proposed high seas pactformally, the Internationally Legally Binding Instrument on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction, or so-called BBNJ treatywould plug this gaping hole. It woulddramatically enhance environmental stewardshipover a vast commons thatencompasses 43 percent of Earths surface, contains 90 percent of the oceans biomass, and constitutes the greatest repository of planetary biodiversity. The BBNJ treaty would bean implementing agreementunder theU.N. Convention of the Law of the Sea, the closest approximation to a constitution for the worlds oceans.

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Formalintergovernmental negotiations on the BBNJopened in September 2018. Unfortunately, the treaty is nowstuck in the doldrums. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, parties were slated to hold their fourth (and ostensibly final) negotiating session in March 2020. Bad timing. The postponed talks are scheduled to resume in August, though this date could slip. More worrisome,international divisions persist on core issuesat the heart of the treaty, including the multilateral rules that should govern marine genetic resources, area-based management tools, environmental impact assessments and capacity-building. Underlying many specific disagreements isa broader philosophical divide: Developing nations insist that the high seas and their resources constitute the common heritage of mankind, whereas developed nations, including the U.S., tend to invoke the freedom of the seas and resist being bound by international obligations.

The topic ofmarine genetic resourcesis especially divisive. While there is consensus that all nations should benefit from their exploitation, the actual details of any global regime remain elusivesuch as whether benefit-sharing should be voluntary or mandatory, or whether it should apply only to specimens collected in situ or also todigital sequence information(or genetic sequence data) subsequently derived from those specimens. Generally speaking, poorer nations insist on maximal benefit-sharing, whereas wealthy ones seek toprotect the intellectual property rights of companiesseeking to profit from their investments.

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Countries are similarly divided on the principles and rules that should govern the collective management of fragile, biodiverse zones, including through the designation of marine protected areas and other arrangements. The high seas containmany ecologically sensitive regions, such as theEmperor Seamount Chainstretching from the Aleutian to the Hawaiian Islands. Nations have yet to agree on the authorities and mechanisms whereby the world will identify, establish, regulate and monitor such zones. Reaching agreement on such matters is a precondition forachieving the 30 by 30 goalof protecting 30 percent of Earths marine and terrestrial surface by 2030,a target Biden recently endorsed.

The BBNJ negotiations reveal that there is broad multilateral consensus for states toconduct environmental impact assessmentsbefore undertaking major activities on the high seas. But there is scant agreement on thethreshold that should trigger such assessments, the technical standards that should inform them, and whether they should be mandated and/or reviewed by a treaty body. There is also disagreement on how best to build the capacities of developing countries to participate in the conservation and sustainable use of the high seas, including how to assess their needs and whether technology transfers should be mandatory or voluntary.

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Global Governance

Oceans and Seas

Treaties and Agreements

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Joe Biden

Beyond resolving these core issues, the final negotiations are supposed to determine any enduring institutional arrangements that will implement the treaty, which could include a secretariat and a standing conference of parties, as well mechanisms to resolve disputes among and monitor compliance by its parties. A huge bone of contention is whether such a governance structure should take precedence over existing sectoral bodies, notably the International Seabed Authority, as well as regional fisheries management organizations.

The Biden administration has a historic opportunity to help break these logjams. To credibly lead the world, however, the U.S. will need toabandon its long-standing reluctance to enter into legally binding environmental treaties, which it too often perceives as infringements on its ability to do what it wantsrather than as useful mechanisms to secure valued outcomes.

Such insistence on absolute freedom of action has frequently been shortsighted, but it is increasingly counterproductive today, as other nations and corporations dramatically expand their activities on and exploitation of the high seas, with disastrous consequences for the marine environment. In the absence of a high seas biodiversity treaty, for instance, there is little to stop a nation or private actor operating under a flag of convenience fromundertaking ecologically destructive mining operations on a deep seabed, launching freelance climate remediation efforts at sea, or even creating floating cities mid-ocean, heedless of the impacts on marine life.

It is deeply within the U.S. national interest to voluntarily accept some international constraints on its own behavior, if, by so doing, it can prevent others from degrading the ocean commons. This is particularly true given Americas generally high regulatory standards. Historically, private U.S. corporations seeking to extract resources from the high seas have had to comply with American law, namely the National Environmental Policy Act, to ensure that they do not cause grievous harm to the ocean. While the Trump administration rolled back these procedural requirements, the Biden administration will surely reinstate them, raising an obvious question: If U.S. corporations are already subject to stringent environmental regulations, why should Washington oppose internationalizing them?

As a matter of course, the U.S. already routinely cedes freedom of action on the high seas, like when it enters into regional fisheries management organizations or accepts shipping lanes defined by the International Maritime Organization. Ratifying the BBNJ would entail similar self-limitations, but the payoff would be huge: helping topreserve the future of lifeon nearly half of the planet.

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Bringing the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty Into Port - Council on Foreign Relations

If the past year has taught us anything, it is that we must not underestimate the power of the natural world. The Covid-19 pandemic has been a tragedy of untold proportions, and a clarion call to us that we must work harder to protect nature and live in harmony, not at odds, with it.

For many people, the notion of protecting nature in Africa conjures up visions of sweeping national parks, game reserves teeming with the Big Five and stretches of golden coastlines where turtles nest while brightly coloured fishes punctuate the clear waters. Of course, they are right: the biodiversity we are blessed with in Africa is abundant and there is much good work being done to ensure its safety and longevity.

But there is one last great wilderness that most of us will never see, and most likely have never thought much about. This great wilderness begins 200 nautical miles off our African shores, it covers half of the planet, and it is the last great global commons the high seas.

As we celebrate World Ocean Day, it is vital we recognise the importance of protecting areas beyond our national jurisdiction. Historically, a lack of clarity about who is responsible for the protection of this expanse and limited public awareness of just how vital a healthy ocean system is has, at best, fuelled disinterest and, at worst, let a small minority exploit its resources and decimate its biodiversity. But it is no exaggeration to state that our lives depend on safeguarding the high seas, even in landlocked countries like my own.

It is thought that scientists know more about outer space than they do the high seas, with some estimating that we are still unaware of 91% of the living organisms that exist in this largely unexplored ecosystem. So murky is our knowledge, that even some of the species that we do know of seem almost mythical, such as the giant squid, the largest of which was recorded at more than 13 metres long, or the whitemargin stargazer, which can sting prey with up to 50 volts. And although these alien-like creatures might seem interesting but unimportant to us in Africa, this could not be further from the truth.

To date, about 34000 organisms have been discovered in the high seas that could potentially be used in medical and food developments. So far, discoveries in the high seas have included eight marine-based drugs, five of which are cancer treatments; and the discovery of one form of alga that can be used to fortify canola oil, an increasingly popular staple in Africa.

However, at present there is no legally binding framework in place to stop wealthier nations or private companies controlling these discoveries, patenting them and preventing developing countries from accessing their benefits.

The same is true of fishing in the high seas. It is monopolised by fewer than a dozen countries, with little regulation, and is rarely equitably shared. In fact, it is estimated that the worldwide value of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing catches is between $4.9-billion and $9.5-billion, and up to 30% of such fishing ($1.2-billion) occurs beyond national jurisdiction.

But more than just providing a minority with financial benefit, overfishing in the high seas has a direct effect on stocks within neighbouring countries exclusive economic zones. This has a disproportionate effect on developing countries in which dependency on fisheries for food, livelihoods and revenues is high.

Without a strong, global, legally binding framework not only will developing countries continue to be denied access to natural resources in the high seas, but the high seas ecosystem will continue to be drastically compromised. This will have significant effects on domestic fish stocks, climate change and sea levels; and, by extension, a direct effect on our livelihoods and health even if, like me, you are sitting in a landlocked country.

The current UN High Seas Treaty under negotiation aims, for the first time, to establish guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. This would include a framework to establish a well-connected and representative network of marine protected areas, rigorous and independent environmental impact assessment of ongoing and future activities on the high seas, and clear funding mechanisms that do not marginalise developing countries.

Over the next six months we have a chance to drastically change the way we engage with the high seas and their ecosystem. As Africans, we owe it to ourselves and future generations to engage fully in the ongoing negotiations for a high seas treaty to ensure that this last great wilderness is protected and restored, and that the oceans abundant resources are distributed equally and sustainably.

To put it simply, if we do not protect the high seas collectively and globally, the repercussions will be catastrophic biologically, economically and almost certainly geopolitically.

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Africa must protect the high seas before its too late - Mail and Guardian

We are in a biodiversity crisis. Species are disappearing across the globe, undermining the biological networks that allow life on earth to survive and thrive. In the ocean, sharks are both pillars of productive ecosystems and victims of this crisis, with some species of shark declining by over 80% in the last half century.

Earthjustice is fighting to protect sharks because these millennia-old scientific wonders are on the path to disappearing before we even understand them, which will leave gaping holes in ocean ecosystems and the human communities they support. Sharks are crucial for a healthy ocean, a stable climate, and the livelihoods and culture of people around the world. We are fighting for sharks because we need them, and the earth needs them.

Overfishing is one of the greatest killers of sharks. We take too many sharks out of the ocean, both purposefully and accidentally as bycatch. One of the biggest drivers of overfishing is illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing. Illegal, unregulated, or unreported fishing is fishing that violates existing laws or happens without any oversight to ensure legal compliance. Far from land and regulation, fishers catch and kill sharks at a devastating rate. Intentional illegal shark fishing often involves the cruel practice of finning sharks alive and throwing them back in the ocean to slowly and painfully drown. Illegal fishing is also often rife with violations of labor and human rights laws.

As the worlds biggest seafood importer, the U.S. has a responsibility to lead on making fishing more sustainable and promoting wise ocean stewardship. A recently introduced bill titled the Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act takes a step in the right direction.

This bill amends and strengthens one of the most important tools the U.S. has to combat illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing: the High Seas Driftnet Fishery Moratorium Protection Act (Moratorium Protection Act), which allows NOAA to identify, certify, and potentially sanction countries when their vessels engage in illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing. The Moratorium Protection Act specifically targets shark fishing by allowing NOAA to identify nations for:

Despite the Moratorium Protection Acts focus on sharks, however, NOAA has never listed a nation for catching sharks as bycatch or for catching sharks on the high seas, and only once has NOAA listed a nation for illegal shark fishing. Clearly, a stronger law is needed to promote better international ocean management.

The Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act takes a comprehensive approach to improving our existing tools for combatting illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing and transforming our nations role from being an unintentional consumer of illegal and unregulated fishing products to being a global leader on prevention. Three elements of the bill are crucial for Earthjustices priorities of sustainable and equitable ocean management and to combat the biodiversity crisis:

The Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act is both commonsense and urgent. Illegal fishing jeopardizes the survival of one of our greatest classes of ocean predators. Sharks are keystone species, and when they disappear, entire ecosystems suffer. More action is needed to protect sharks and preserve ocean ecosystems, and Earthjustice supports this first important step to stemming the tide of illegal seafood into our ports. With bipartisan support for advancing these practical solutions to the growing problem of illegal fishing, Congress must advance the Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act this session.

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Why the Ocean Needs The Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act - Earthjustice

(l-r) Charg dAffaires, John McIntyre, Elaine Chambers (mother of Potential Officer, Nicholas Folkes), Senator the Honorable Matthew Samuda, Minister without Portfolio, Ministry of National Security, Potential Officer, Shawna Marie Sinclair, and Commodore Antonette Wemyss-Gorman Jamaica Defence For

The United States Coast Guard Academy has admitted as cadets two members of the Jamaica Defence Force, Shawna Marie Sinclair and Nicholas Folkes. Soon to be Cadet Sinclair and soon to be Cadet Folkes will be the first Jamaica Defence Force members to be appointed to the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and their appointment comes as part of the international cadet program. Worldwide, only six slots were available for international cadets with Jamaica securing two of those coveted six spots.

As international cadets, Folkes and Sinclair are subject to the same rules, regulations, and pay as U.S. cadets. They will earn a Bachelor of Science degree upon graduation and will return to Jamaica to serve in the Jamaica Defence Force as commissioned officers.

Speaking at the appointment ceremony held June 1 at the U.S. Embassy, Charg dAffaires John McIntyre said All of Jamaica should be proud that one-third of the international cadets attending the U.S. Coast Guard Academy as part of Class 2025 are Jamaican.

At the ceremony, Charg dAffaires McIntyre presented the official appointment certificates to Sinclair and Folkes mother Elaine Chambers, who accepted the certificate on his behalf as he was unable to attend in person. Other distinguished guests at the ceremony included Senator the Honorable Matthew Samuda, Minister without Portfolio, Ministry of National Security, Commodore Antonette Wemyss-Gorman, Fleet Executive Officer of the Jamaica Defence Force, Brigadier Roderick Williams, Brigade Commander, Maritime, Air and Cyber Command, Brigadier Radgh Mason, President of the Caribbean Military Academy, U.S. Embassy Senior Defense Official Lieutenant Colonel Robert Ramsey, and U.S. Embassy Coast Guard Attach Lieutenant Commander Jason Hathaway.

Speaking on the U.S.-Jamaican bilateral relationship, Lieutenant Commander Hathaway noted, the U.S. Coast Guard and the Jamaica Defence Force Coast Guard have long enjoyed a close partnership, standing side-by-side in the Caribbean to face transnational criminal organizations conducting crimes upon the high seas and coastal zones. Today, we forge the next chapter in that partnership with these two pioneers of Jamaican sea service.

The United States Coast Guard Academy is located in New London, Connecticut and is the smallest U.S. service academy, with only 900 total cadets at any given time. The first international cadet program began as an exchange with the Philippines in 1970. Since then, over 200 cadets from 50 countries have enrolled in the program.

By U.S. Embassy Kingston | 8 June, 2021 | Topics: News, Press Releases

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Two Members of the Jamaica Defence Force Are First-Ever Appointed to United States Coast Guard Academy - US Embassy in Jamaica

By Ghaamid Abdulbasat Hatibu

The importance of protecting biodiversity is not lost on Tanzanians. Our country is well known for its incredible beauty and diverse ecosystems: home to an incredible 24 percent of the worlds biodiversity hotspots.

Perhaps most notable is Serengeti National Park, a shining example of the importance and benefits of protected areas; the great migration draws in millions of visitors each year, while also providing the necessary routes for animals to safely find greener pastures in the western corridor of the Serengeti and then back again. And, just 40km off the mainland, youll find another breath-taking example of Tanzanias natural heritage: the Menai Bay conservation area, home to sea turtles, dolphins and dugongs.

Significant role

On land and at sea, Tanzanias youth have played a significant role in working to build and maintain protection of our natural resources, and as it stands over a third of our land is protected. However, while Tanzanias efforts to protect biodiversity so far are admirable, there is one area that we can do more for: the high seas.

The high seas begin 200 nautical miles off our coast and as a result, fall outside of our national jurisdiction. But, importantly, they make up over 64 percent of the earths surface. They remain largely unexplored but are believed to make up 95 percent of the earths occupied habitats, offering a home to thousands of fish species, providing migratory routes for whales and sharks, as well as harbouring remarkable ecosystems such as deep-water corals and other microscopic life.

Yet, only around one percent of this vast global common is protected, and unless our governments come together and carve out a plan to safeguard this last great wilderness, the youth, and generations to come will face devastating consequences.

At present no singular governing body holds responsibility for looking after the high seas, and as such they are susceptible to select nations and corporations accessing their resources without suitable supervision, which means increasingly they are exploited on a first come, first serve basis. This lack of oversight has led to unsustainable fishing practices, monopolisation of genetic resource materials, unequal distribution of discoveries of note, and a lack of efficient ecosystem monitoring.

Equality gap

It is no exaggeration to say that the limited access that developing countries, such as my own, has to the high seas has contributed to the growing equality gap. Both in an immediate sense, with regards to medical and scientific advances, but also longer term, with compromised marine ecosystems contributing to climate change, rising sea levels, and reduced fish stocks in our national waters.

The High Seas Treaty, currently under negotiation at the United Nations aims, for the first time, to establish guidelines for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

This would include a framework to establish a well-connected and representative network of marine protected areas, rigorous and independent environmental impact assessment of ongoing and future activities on the high seas, and clear funding mechanisms that do not marginalise developing nations.

A healthy and productive ocean is crucial for our planets survival. To support people, fight climate change and save biodiversity, we need a network of fully and highly protected areas covering at least 30 percent of the ocean by 2030, which can only be accomplished by including the high seas.

Climate change

As young people in todays world, it is easy to feel helpless when trying to combat climate change and biodiversity loss, for years the political will just was not there. But we have changed that - and, slowly but surely, world leaders have opened their eyes to the desperate need for greater action. Now, they must open their ears and listen to the ocean. It needs our help - if not for ourselves, then for future generations. So, on this World Oceans Day today, lets join together and forge ahead with a robust High Seas Treaty.

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Ghaamid Abdulbasat Hatibu leads the Global Youth Biodiversity Network Chapter in Tanzania

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Why its time we woke up and listened to the ocean - The Citizen

1823 was a big year for the Florida Keys. New waves of wreckers were arriving to try their luck on the Florida Reef. Two of these men were Joshua Appleby and Captain John Fiveash. They sailed into the West Indies in 1822 and established a small community at Key Vaca called Port Monroe.

The two placed a Notice to Mariners in the Pensacola newspaper The Floridian on February 10, 1823. The announcement touted Port Monroe as having the advantages of a large and spacious harbor and the proprietors are furnished with experienced pilots, good vessels, boats, and provisions of all kinds to relieve those who may be so unfortunate as to get on the Florida Reef.

The year 1823 was also when Commodore David Porter, in charge of the West Indies Squadron created to eradicate piracy, combat the slave trade, and protect American citizens established its base of operations on Key West. (The government name for the island was Thompsons Island, to honor Secretary of the Navy Smith Thompson.) At 8 oclock on the morning of April 6, 17 guns were fired, and the American flag was pulled up the staff and began flapping in the Key West breezes.

Porters Mosquito Fleet made short work of the pirates of the West Indies. Porter also observed wreckers operating along the Florida Reef. He wrote a letter to Thompson voicing his concerns regarding the limited written statutes governing wrecking laws. He also commented on what, at times, were the astronomical salvage claims being awarded.

On July 2, Monroe County was established as the Florida Territorys sixth county. Monroe County was a much larger slice of real estate in 1823 and stretched from Key West to the southern shore of Lake Okeechobee and west to Charlotte Harbor on the Gulf of Mexico. Two days after Monroe County was created, the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida, George Murray president, passed the Salvage Act.

Among its 14 parts were statutes requiring the salvaged property to be reported to the nearest justice-of-the-peace or notary public. Additionally, it would prove the officers duty to oversee the assembly of a five-member arbitration jury to decide all fees for the salvage operation. Section 14 of the act stated, Be it further enacted, That if any person shall within this territory, make or hold out any false lights, or make any device, or do any other act or thing with intent to mislead, bewilder or decoy the mariners of any vessel on the high seas, whereby such vessel may be cast ashore, or get aground, such person or persons so offending, and every accessory thereto, shall on conviction thereof be deemed guilty of Felony, and shall suffer death.

Tales of skullduggery and false lights, while pervasive in wrecker lore, were rarely documented. The inclusion of Section 14, however, indicates that the legends were rooted in some truths.

Generally speaking, wrecking was life-threatening work performed by honest, hard-working men. The primary job was to salvage as much life and property from a distressed ship as humanly possible. Often thought of as little better than pirates, while wreckers fully expected to be paid for their services, they would not hold a cutlass to your throat for the chance to make a buck.

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1823: WHEN A FEW BAD APPLES SPOILED THE WRECKING TRADE - Florida Keys Weekly

Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World

20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection

It looks like the tide is turning on Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World. Despite being criticized by Twitter for being too long, Fox is interested in giving audiences more adventures on the high seas.

Initially reported via Deadline, it seems the newly minted 20th Century Studios is working on a prequel to the 2003 seafaring film. Screenwriter Patrick Ness, who scribed the 2016 family drama A Monster Calls will tackle the screenplay. There are currently no stars or a director attached.

Directed by Peter Weir, the original feature starred Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany as members of a ship in pursuit of a French vessel during the Napoleonic wars.

At the beginning of the pandemic last year the film saw an unintentional resurgence via Twitter when one user wrote, Lots of folk complaining about lack of sleep during the Pandemic. May I recommend Master and Commander starring the usually captivating, attention-grabbing Russell Crowe. Ive never made it past the ten minute mark. Youre welcome. And thanks Russell.

The initial tweet also tagged Crowe who responded to the comment with Thats the problem with kids these days. No focus. Peter Weirs film is brilliant. An exacting, detail oriented, epic tale of fidelity to Empire & service, regardless of the cost. Incredible cinematography by Russell Boyd & a majestic soundtrack. Definitely an adults movie.

Crowe himself has long wanted to make a sequel to Master and Commander even using social media himself in December of 2010 to urge fans to ensure Fox knew about the demand for a follow-up feature. Crowe wrote on social media at the time, If you want a Master and Commander sequel I suggest you e-mail Tom Rothman at Fox and let him know your thoughts. A prequel isnt necessarily the same thing but it would be interesting to see if the script could find an inventive way to use Crowe in some capacity.

The film was not the box office hit needed to start an intended film franchise around OBrians literary series. Despite being considered a box office disappointment, Master and Commander picked up 10 Oscar nominations (including Best Picture and Best Director) and won the Academy Awards for Best Sound Editing and Best Cinematography.

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Prequel to Russell Crowes Master and Commander in the Works - IndieWire