Deep seabed mining

The emerging threat of seabed mining is an urgent wake-up call: the in different parts of world’s governments must act now to protect the high seas, including by creating a the ocean are likely global network of marine reserves8 that will be crucial sanctuaries at sea for marine life to impact different and the ecosystems which we all rely on for our survival. [...] The current lack of scientific knowledge on the deep-sea environment, and the lack of knowledge of the technology employed, limits our ability to predict the environmental impacts of mining operations and to determine whether habitats can ever recover from the disturbance.15 We know that deep-sea species from many habitats, such as seamounts and abyssal plains, are particularly vulnerable due to t [...] A study at the mining site found 20 new species, with more species likely to be found in the future.18 The impacts on the actual mining site will be very high, but the resilience of this system is unknown, as are the effectiveness of the proposed efforts to assist natural recovery. [...] It is likely to be impossible to essential to know restrict impacts from tailings, or the release of metals to a local area, due to the very the oceanographic nature of ocean currents.23 Impacts that spread far away from the original site could characteristics of potentially lead to international disputes. [...] Pollution from dewatering, the removal of any particular site water from metals removed from the seabed, may contain heavy metals and other and the properties pollutants, which will be re-suspended if discharged into the water column.24 of the metals that will be dispersed Potential contamination of the food chain?