Matthew has welcomed the government support for a moratorium on granting of exploitation licences for deep sea mining.

The Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs and the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office released a joint statement confirming that the UK has announced its support for measures designed to protect the world’s ocean and improve the conservation of marine biodiversity. 

By supporting the moratorium, the UK will not sponsor or support the issuing of any deep-sea mining licences until sufficient scientific evidence is available. This evidence must assess the potential impact of deep sea mining activities on marine ecosystems and strong, enforceable environmental regulations, standards and guidelines have been developed and adopted by the ISA.  

Last month, Matthew met with the High Seas Alliance and Great Blue Ocean representatives in Parliament to confirming his support for the Global Ocean Treaty - including a moratorium on deep-sea mining.