The deep sea is one of the last untouched places on Earth.
Tell Canada to stop companies from mining it.
Far below the waves exist some of the planet’s most mysterious ecosystems.
But, each year, scientists make new discoveries that fill in parts of this puzzle, uncovering new species that could be critical to life on Earth.
Like deep-sea corals—whose unique peptides are being studied as potential cancer therapies.
And the next medical breakthrough or landmark scientific finding could be just around the corner.
Yet companies are racing to mine the deep-sea ecosystems that are home to these critical discoveries—and even more we’ve yet to uncover.
This is where Canada must step in and show strong leadership towards a global ban on deep-sea mining.
You can help make that happen.
What is deep-sea mining?
Deep-sea mining involves stripping and dredging the seafloor, including biological hotspots like seamounts and hydrothermal vents, for metal deposits.
It is a highly destructive process that scientists say would cause “inevitable and irreversible” biodiversity loss. Once damaged, these critical ecosystems can take centuries to recover, and entire species could be lost forever.
What does this mean for humans?
Life on Earth relies on healthy deep-sea ecosystems.
At the core of our planet’s climate systems, the deep sea drives ocean currents that regulate global temperatures and sequesters nearly 3 billion tonnes of carbon each year. Scientists warn that even small-scale, exploratory deep-sea mining would disrupt some of the world's largest carbon sinks for years to come.
The discharge of mining wastewater into the water columns would form toxin and sediment plumes. Traveling for hundreds of kilometres, these plumes could introduce toxic concentrations of metals into the marine food webs we rely on for food and other processes.
In addition to other social and cultural impacts, deep-sea mining would infringe on the rights of Indigenous Peoples, who emphasize the need to protect their cultural heritage and connection to the ocean.
Tell Canada to prevent this from happening by signing the official parliamentary petition.
