Surfrider is urging the Trump administration to reject an unprecedented proposal for deep-sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone. Submit your comment today!
The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is reviewing a consolidated application submitted by The Metals Company USA to conduct deep-sea mining exploration and commercial recovery across approximately 65,000 km² of the Clarion-Clipperton Zone, an area beyond national jurisdiction. Located between Hawai'i and Mexico, this sensitive marine ecosystem is a biodiversity hotspot that could be irreparably harmed by the industrial-scale mining of minerals from the ocean floor.
NOAA has opened a comment period until October 19 to accept public feedback on this dangerous proposal to open the Pacific to deep-sea mining. Please complete Surfrider’s action alert to easily submit an official comment to the federal administration. NOAA is also holding a virtual public hearing on October 13, providing an opportunity for oral testimony. See below for additional guidance and sample talking points to make your voice heard on this critical issue.
O'ahu Paddle Out Against Deep[-Sea Mining. July, 2025. Video: Paolo Marra-Biggs
Seabed mineral extraction, also referred to as deep-sea mining or seabed mining, involves industrial-scale prospecting for metals and other minerals along the ocean floor. Such activity damages habitats that nurture commercially and recreationally important fish. Seabed mining also creates sediment clouds and noise that can negatively impact other marine life, including plankton, groundfish, salmon, forage fish, whales, and dolphins.
In deeper waters, seabed mining can involve scraping a foot or more off seamounts that are rich in nodules containing minerals. These “underwater mountains” are often located near hydrothermal vents at 4,600 to 12,100 feet below the ocean’s surface and host complex communities with incredible biodiversity. Such areas include sensitive species of corals and sponges, as well as tuna, sharks, dolphins, and sea turtles. Deep-sea mining increasingly targets these magnificent places with the potential to cause irreparable damage.
If the U.S. government were to advance this project, it would undermine the international framework established by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the authority of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). Ignoring international governance undermines the United States’ standing and sets a dangerous precedent for other countries to conduct illegal activities on the High Seas. Our nation cannot afford the geopolitical costs of a unilateral approach to seabed mining in international waters.
NOAA's review of the The Metals Company application is part of a broader federal effort to fast-track deep-sea mining approvals in both U.S. federal and international waters. In January 2026, the Trump administration finalized a rule to fast-track seabed mining in international waters without critical environmental review, contradicting the ongoing efforts of the ISA. Along with seabed mining initiatives advancing in American Samoa and the Mariana Islands, we are witnessing a rapidly accelerating gold rush to industrialize the Pacific’s deep ocean.
Please take action to protect the Pacific from harmful seabed mining by submitting your comment to NOAA! Consider clicking “edit my message” to personalize your letter.
Seabed mining can generate massive sediment clouds that harm fish, sharks, and other marine life. Photo: NOAA
Why the Clarion-Clipperton Zone Matters
The Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ) is a vast stretch of deep ocean in the central Pacific covering about 4.5 million square kilometers- more than ten times the size of California. The CCZ, roughly 500 miles southeast of Hawaiʻi, is part of a vertically connected ocean system, stretching from the deep seabed to the surface, that plays a critical role in storing carbon and supporting Pacific food webs, including the tuna fisheries vital to Hawaiʻi’s economy and food security.
In Hawaiian knowledge systems, the deep ocean is not an empty or distant place, but a source of life and connection. Caring for the ocean is understood to extend from the shoreline to the deepest waters. Damage caused by deep-sea mining across a region this large would not stay confined to one place; it would ripple across the Pacific, threatening ocean health and island communities that depend on a healthy, functioning ocean.
Scientific research led by the University of Hawaiʻi shows that deep-sea mining in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone would cause harm far beyond the seafloor. Mining operations generate large sediment plumes that would be released into the midwater “twilight zone,” where many ocean species feed. These plumes dilute natural, nutrient-rich food particles with low-quality sediment, disrupting the base of the marine food web.
Recent research shows that midwater mining plumes could trigger cascading, bottom-up ecosystem impacts—extending from plankton and small fish to larger fish and marine predators, including species critical to Pacific fisheries. A separate study found that deep-sea mining could significantly increase extinction risk for deep-sea sharks, rays, and chimaeras — slow-growing, long-lived species that are especially vulnerable to disturbance and population collapse.
A Misguided Gold Rush to Exploit the Ocean
Across the globe, a frantic race is underway among both nations and corporate titans to extract various metals from the world’s ocean. Driven by advances in extractive technology and increasing demand for cobalt, manganese, nickel, gold, and other minerals, a growing industry is looking at the ocean as the “next frontier” to harvest these resources. According to reports deep-seabed mining could soon begin in the world’s ocean before the risks and impacts are even understood.
Yet, the economic costs of deep-sea mining have been shown to outweigh the benefits. No commercial deep-sea mining is happening anywhere in the world - the technology is undeveloped, untested, and unproven - and there are many uncertainties regarding environmental impacts. Like all deep ocean operations, deep-sea mining will have extraordinarily high up-front costs and is unlikely to be competitive without government support. As it stands, an emerging deep sea mining industry is likely to benefit foreign interests over American people.
Further, there is broad global opposition to unregulated seabed mining in the world’s ocean. A large and growing global constituency is calling for a pause, moratorium, or ban on deep-sea mining, including over 37 countries and jurisdictions, nearly all the Pacific States and U.S. Territories, over 75 Indigenous and Local People groups, over 900 science and policy experts from 70 countries, and large companies such as Apple, Google, Microsoft, and BMW.
The Role of Consumers: Reducing Our Demand
All of us must consider how personal actions can contribute to interest in seabed mining. An increasing number of products, from cell phones to supercomputers, depend on metals that can be found on the ocean floor. As highlighted in popular media coverage, the growth of the electric car industry is also responsible for fueling interest in seabed mining. That’s why all of us who are fortunate to enjoy a first-world lifestyle must take responsibility for consuming less. It also reinforces the key role that recycling of products containing precious metals – phones, cars, batteries, computers – must play in limiting the demand for more raw materials.
Take Action
Action Alert: Prevent Harmful Seabed Mining in the Pacific
Register for October 13 Public Hearing
Seabed Mining Beachapedia Article
Sample Talking Points