US deep-sea mining claims in Pacific’s high seas now rival the area set aside by international regulator

The International Seabed Authority (ISA), a U.N.-associated body, has long managed activities related to deep-sea mining in international waters. But after the Trump administration issued an executive order in 2025 calling for the U.S. to develop its deep-sea mining sector, companies have been applying to the U.S. for rights to explore and exploit the international seabed, challenging the ISA’s authority. In the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean, a hotspot of mining interest in international waters, a Mongabay analysis shows that companies have either applied to the U.S. or already been granted rights to areas of the seabed equal to about half the expanse already designated for mining activities by the ISA. Several of these claims overlap, as depicted in our interactive map, raising concerns about the management of the international seabed. Critics already concerned that deep-sea mining could have detrimental effects on the marine environment said U.S.-led acceleration of the industry would only benefit the U.S. and U.S. companies, rather than benefiting developing nations, as the ISA is mandated to do. U.S. ambitions to mine the deep sea are rapidly expanding across the ocean, not only in the country’s own waters, but also on the high seas — the vast expanse of ocean outside any one country’s jurisdiction. In the Clarion-Clipperton Zone of the Pacific Ocean, a hotspot of mining interest in international waters, a Mongabay analysis shows that companies have either applied to the U.S. or already been granted rights to areas of the seabed equal to about…This article was originally published on Mongabay