To ensure a robust new International Legally Binding Instrument (ILBI) for the high seas, adequate attention will need to be placed on how the governance structures can address both fragile, static deep-sea ecosystems and immense, highly dynamic open-ocean ecosystems. In this policy brief we provide examples of open-ocean ecosystems, their importance to coastal States, and considerations of how to ensure the robust conservation and sustainable use of dynamic pelagic systems and biological diversity under a new ILBI.

This policy brief is part of the Nereus Scientific & Technical Briefs on Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ) series. This brief was prepared for the Fourth Preparatory Committee Meeting on Marine Biological Diversity in Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ) from July 10 to 21 at the UN, in New York.

The series includes policy briefs on 1) Area-based management tools, 2) Climate change in oceans beyond national jurisdictions, 3) Open data, 4) Tech transfer, 5) AIS data as a tool to monitor ABMTs and identify governance gaps in ABNJ fisheries, 6) Impacts of fisheries on open-ocean ecosystems, and 7) Adjacency.