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NOAA and MPA Center Involvement in Marine Protected Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (High Seas)

  > National System  >  International MPAs and the National System  > High Seas



Overview

Living marine resources in the high seas (parts of the sea beyond national jurisdiction) are of significant importance to global, regional, and national economies and industries, including the fishing industry, which contributes to food security and is a source of livelihood for 400 million fishers around the world.

High seas biodiversity, particularly around seamounts, hydrothermal vents, methane seeps, and deepwater coral communities, plays an important role in the functioning of marine ecosystems and may offer significant opportunities for scientific discovery and development of products, as organisms found in these isolated ecosystems have evolved under extreme conditions. The 1982 Law of the Sea Convention provides the foundational governance regime for the high seas. Numerous international bodies, such as the International Maritime Organization and a number of regional fisheries management organizations, have a role in high seas management.

How is the MPA Center Involved?

The United States supports working toward an ecosystem-based approach to management of marine areas, including the high seas. MPAs have been identified as one tool for ecosystem-based management. In particular, the United States supports an approach to management, including the use of MPAs, that focuses on particular marine resources and activities that are threatening their sustainability. MPAs on the high seas must be consistent with international law, and in particular with customary international law, including high seas freedoms, as reflected in the Law of the Sea Convention. In some international fora, there are efforts currently taking place to create protected areas on the high seas consistent with international law.

The MPA Center participates in efforts by NOAA and the U.S. Government regarding MPAs, including consideration of high seas MPAs in the appropriate international fora, as a management tool to protect marine biodiversity. This includes consideration of issues related to effects and cumulative impacts of human uses on marine biodiversity and the marine environment, and the effects of climate change on oceanic functions and systems. Working through the federal family and with international partners, the MPA Center is exploring opportunities to address the impacts and interactions of human uses on high seas resources, in particular with regard to effective measures to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems.

For more information

mpainfo@noaa.gov