‘There are no rules on the high seas': Australia to play a key role on ocean protections

The Age

08-06-2025

Australian mining billionaire Andrew 'Twiggy' Forrest will seek to partner with at least three countries to help fund marine protection zones, in a world-first plan to bolster poorer nations' capacity to fight unsustainable fishing practices.
Forrest will attend the United Nations Oceans Conference in France on Monday, where he is expected to hold talks with world leaders including French President Emmanuel Macron.
'It's absolutely clear that the world fishing industries are in a race to the bottom, a race to make oceans extinct of life, and that is because it's a rule-less order [on the high seas],' Forrest said.
Environment Minister Murray Watt said Australia would play a leading role at the talks, and announced on Sunday that the Albanese government would introduce legislation enabling Australia to ratify the High Seas Biodiversity Treaty.
Twenty-eight countries have ratified the treaty, which needs 60 member states to come into force. The UN-led treaty seeks to protect vast swaths of ocean in international waters – covering nearly half the planet – from overfishing.
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'All Australians understand the importance of the ocean. It's at the heart of our national identity, and it connects us with our region and the rest of the world,' Watt said.
'Australia is a world leader in ocean protection, working domestically and with our Pacific and Indian Ocean neighbours to protect this precious and incredibly important shared resource.'
Just over half Australia's oceans are in marine-protected areas, although only 22 per cent are 'no-take' zones that prevent trawling and other commercial fishing.