A US company wants to mine the high seas between Kiribati 🇰🇮, the Cook Islands 🇨🇰 and French Polynesia 🇵🇫.
The Pacific Ocean 🌊 is connected and so are the decisions that shape its future.
Here’s why we should all be concerned. 🧵
Jul 24, 2026 · 2:52 AM UTC
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2/ The proposal is moving through a unilateral US licensing process while governments are still negotiating international rules for deep-sea mining through the International Seabed Authority (ISA).
globaltimes.cn/page/202607/1…
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3/ The proposed mining site lies in the Eastern High Seas Pocket, beyond national jurisdiction.
Ocean currents, migratory species and marine ecosystems don’t stop at political boundaries—and potential impacts don’t either.
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4/ Pacific civil society has consistently called for deep-sea mining to be guided by the precautionary principle and considered through transparent, science-based and multilateral decision-making.
pasifika.news/2026/05/pacifi…
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5/ The US has opened the proposal for public comment before making a decision.
That means people in the Pacific, and around the world, have an opportunity to put their views on the public record.
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6/ 📝 Public comments close 3 August.
We’ve prepared a simple guide and template to help you make a submission.
tinyurl.com/dsm-submission-g…
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7// 📖 Want to understand the proposal in more detail?
Read @grist’s reporting:
grist.org/oceans/american-de…
Then make your submission before 3 August.
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