The Nauru government is being urged to pump the brakes on its reported push to mine the ocean floor within its own exclusive economic zone by 2024.
According to Reuters the Pacific Island government is intending this week to ask the International Seabed Authority to fast-track the adoption of seabed mining regulations.
The regulations are still under consultation but Nauru's request would compel the authority to allow seabed mining to go ahead within two years, effectively setting a deadline for the body to finalise the mining regulations.
The New Zealand based Deep Sea Conservation Coalition says fast-tracking seabed mining could trigger a race to the bottom and prove disastrous for the world's oceans.
The Deep Sea Mining Campaign warns that if nodule mining is allowed to take place in the Pacific Ocean, species such as the Sperm Whale could be adversely affected. Photo: WILLYAM
