Ocean Treaty Ratified by UK Government
The Global Ocean Treaty became international law on 17th January 2026 – the most significant victory for ocean protection and restoration that many of us involved in environment have ever witnessed. Whilst the UK signed the treaty, it had still to ratify it in the UK Parliament for our full participation in the negotiations in the next years.
By Sally Campbell. Featured image by Cristian Palmer on Unsplash.com
Greenpeace and its world-wide supporters, together with so many organisations and hundreds of thousands of people on every isle and continent, have worked tirelessly for this victory.
Campaigners, coastal communities, small-scale fishers, scientists, and ocean lovers everywhere can hold on to this moment as proof that when millions of voices demand change, we can achieve what once seemed like a distant dream. Remember on Arran we held a demonstration in Brodick for 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference, known as COP26, from October 31 to November 13, 2021?
Why does the Global Ocean Treaty matter?
Our oceans are in crisis. Less than 1% of the High Seas are fully or highly protected, meaning they remain vulnerable to industrial fishing, oil drilling, and, maybe soon, even deep sea mining.
The Global Ocean Treaty has the power to change everything. For the first time, governments have a legal framework to create High Seas sanctuaries – vast protected areas outside of any country’s national waters, where fragile ecosystems can recover and thrive. If fully implemented, the Treaty could establish the largest network of ocean sanctuaries in history, covering over a third of our global oceans.
After lobbying of the UK Parliament and politicians, July 2026 marked a huge win for our oceans. The UK government has officially ratified the Global Ocean Treaty, formally committing the UK to be bound by the treaty and its terms.
The UK joins more than 90 other countries which have already ratified. Thanks to the commitment of many dedicated supporters, the UK is joining forces with many countries on the vital right track to protecting the world’s oceans. Campaigners, coastal communities, small-scale fishers, scientists, and ocean lovers everywhere can hold on to this moment as proof that when millions of voices demand change, we can achieve what once seemed like a distant dream.
Commenting on the momentous ratifying of the treaty, Chris Thorne, Senior Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace UK, said:
“A constellation of ocean sanctuaries—alive with whales, turtles and coral reefs—is within reach. Our government can finally help to create connected safe havens, right across our ocean, where nature can recover and thrive, free from the devastation caused by the likes of industrial fishing and oil drilling.
“This is the UK’s moment to reclaim its role as a global ocean leader and fight back against the destructive vessels plundering our seas for profit. The new Prime Minister Andy Burnham, must seize the opportunity that the High Seas Treaty brings and champion bold proposals to protect vast swathes of the ocean, as part of a promise to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. The UK government should start with the Sargasso Sea and the wider Atlantic Ocean, which surrounds our shores.”
Why does the Global Ocean Treaty matter?
If fully implemented, the Treaty could establish the largest network of ocean sanctuaries in history, covering over a third of our global oceans. Half of all biodiversity on Earth lives in the ocean. The Earth is more blue than green, but so much of that life remains hidden beneath the waves. We are still only beginning to understand the deep ocean’s importance. Seamounts – underwater mountains scattered across the High Seas – may act as signposts for migratory birds, and the deep sea may even play a role in oxygen production. In the high seas, marine thrives around submerged mountains like the one pictured below – Vema Seamount off the coast of South Africa High Seas Sanctuaries are not just about allowing wildlife to recover, they are crucial to helping us tackle the climate crisis, and for safeguarding food security for billions of people.
Decades in the making
Ever since I started marine research at the edge of the ocean as a graduate student around the British coast, and then on biofouling in San Francisco Bay in the late 1960s I have been so aware of the needs for protection of both inshore and offshore waters. The complexity of the marine environment means everything affects everything, so temperature, and levels of nitrates. phosphates and other pollutants are part of that cycle. The horrible spectacle of seeing dead whales brought into San Francisco Bay in 1969, ready for butchering at the local whaling station, made me a campaigner and I have written about and talked for ocean protection. Yet still whales, dolphins and many species including birds are caught in bycatch and have continued to be discounted. Since the 1960s the realisation of the damage of plastic waste has also increased and needs also to be addressed.
The first Greenpeace briefing on the need for an ocean treaty was written back in 2005. Since then, campaigners, scientists, Indigenous communities, and countless other organisations on every continent have worked so hard to build momentum.
In 2019 Greenpeace launched their “30 X 30 Protection of Oceans by 2030” campaign at the Conference Centre near Tower Bridge in London, an inspiring day with Greenpeace ship Esperanza, berthed nearby. The report, 30×30: A Blueprint for Ocean Protection was the result of a year-long collaboration between leading academics at the University of York, University of Oxford and Greenpeace. Scientists said the 2030 target is crucial in order to safeguard wildlife and to help mitigate the impacts of climate change. In one of the largest ever studies of its kind, researchers broke down the global oceans – which cover almost half the planet – into 25,000 squares of 100×100 km, and then mapped the distribution of 458 different conservation features, including wildlife, habitats and key oceanographic features, generating hundreds of scenarios for what a planet-wide network of ocean sanctuaries, free from harmful human activity, could look like. Words spoken at that presentation still reverberate today:
“The speed at which the high seas have been depleted of some of their most spectacular and iconic wildlife has taken the world by surprise,” said Prof Callum Roberts, marine conservation biologist then at the University of York, now at University of Exeter. “Extraordinary losses of seabirds, turtles, sharks and marine mammals reveal a broken governance system that governments at the United Nations must urgently fix. This report shows how protected areas could be rolled out across international waters to create a net of protection that will help save species from extinction and help them survive in our fast-changing world.”
The starting whistle, not the finish line
So now, world governments have committed to protect at least 30% of the oceans by 2030. But to achieve it, they will need to put more than 12 million square kilometres of the High Seas – an area bigger than Canada – off limits to destructive activity every single year until then. It is an enormous task, and the clock is ticking. UK ratified the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) Agreement, also known as the High Seas Treaty. The British Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, signed the document required for the UK to ratify this BBNJ Agreement and it was formally deposited with the United Nations in New York, completing the final step of the process. At the first Ocean COP in January 2027, the UK must announce plans to champion an ambitious proposal to protect huge areas of the Atlantic Ocean, including the Sargasso Sea. This must be grounded in science, shaped with the participation of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, and ensure full protection from harmful industries.
We know High Seas sanctuaries work
We do not need to imagine what fully protected sanctuaries could achieve. The Galápagos Marine Reserve was established more than two decades ago and expanded in 2022. It is an incredible living showcase of how ocean sanctuaries can help wildlife bounce back when given space and protection. Sharks, turtles, and manta rays are returning and fish stocks have recovered, spilling over into surrounding waters and supporting local fishers. Coral reefs and ecosystems are thriving there – proof that when destructive industries are kept out, marine life can rebound quickly.
If one sanctuary around a single island chain can deliver such hope and abundance, imagine what a whole network of High Seas sanctuaries – across vast stretches of international waters – could do.
But not everything is wonderful: Save our seas from destructive fishing
Industrial supertrawlers are tearing through the UK’s Marine Protected Areas, wiping out marine life at an alarming rate and impacting the livelihoods of small-scale fishing communities. But the UK Environment Secretary has the power to stop this destruction. Since leaving the EU the UK government has had the power to protect our precious ocean life. So far it has failed to act.
We must call for the UK government to ban supertrawlers from our Marine Protected Areas.
Whilst the UK government has authority over off shore, the Scottish Government has the authority over Scottish inshore waters, and has been so slow to act even on inshore waters, even after countless consultations over the last 10 years. Political posturing and power of some groups has delayed action. The Scottish Government has now committed to consulting on management measures for fishing activity for inshore Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) where measures are required and are not already in place, as well as for Priority Marine Features (PMFs) most sensitive to bottom-contacting mobile fishing gear outside the MPA network. “In the coming weeks, we will consult on further protections for inshore MPAs and priority marine features – habitats of high conservation importance – a project that has been developed with extensive input from the fishing sector for nearly a decade”, the Scottish Government has announced.
- The New Schedule: In this month, August 2026, Scottish Marine Minister, Jim Fairlie, confirmed that the long-awaited consultation will officially open in the very near future. Because of the massive scale of the plans, the government has extended the feedback period to 16 weeks to ensure all coastal and fishing communities can voice their opinions.
What the Consultation Covers
The upcoming consultation is highly complex and focuses heavily on balancing ecological recovery with local economic survival.
- Scope of Sites: It will cover over 160 marine sites, a vast majority of which are located around the west coast and the Western Isles.
- Inshore MPAs: Introducing targeted fishing restrictions in areas within 12 nautical miles of the shore where protections are not already active.
- Priority Marine Features (PMFs): Setting up strict management zones outside of existing MPAs for 11 specific PMF habitats and species that are highly sensitive to physical seabed disruption.
- The “Zonal” vs “Full Closure” Debate: Following a parallel offshore MPA consultation analysis, published by the Scottish Government, this consultation will heavily deliberate whether to implement full site closures or localized “zonal” restrictions to protect habitats while allowing sustainable fishing to continue. [
- How the Measures Were Developed
The datasets and proposed boundaries have been developed using scientific advice from NatureScot and years of targeted commercial fishing data. The government has stressed that these proposals were built with nearly a decade of input from the fishing industry, aiming to avoid the heavily polarized pushback that previously collapsed the Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMA) framework in 2023. There will need to be plenty of discussions in communities.
We all need to respond to this consultation so keep looking for notices of WHEN it comes! MAKE SURE OUR VOICES ARE HEARD!
Sally Campbell August 2026
With thanks to Greenpeace for their reporting, lobbying and strategic longer-term view for the oceans, ecosystems and climate.
