Seabed Mining Proposed in the Federal Waters off Virginia

The federal administration is considering opening most of Virginia’s offshore waters to industrial seabed mining, putting the Eastern Seaboard’s marine ecosystem and coastal economy at risk. On June 23, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced it was opening a 30-day comment period on an unsolicited proposal from Odyssey Marine Exploration to conduct offshore mining for metals and phosphates off the coast of Virginia. BOEM is inviting public feedback on potential mining across 2,764 square miles - an area of ocean larger than Delaware! If BOEM ultimately approves the project, Virginia’s coastal water will be subject to the harmful effects of seabed mining.

Seabed mining is the industrial-scale prospecting for metals and other minerals along the ocean floor. The extraction process involves dredging or drilling the seafloor to pick up minerals to process on the surface. While the minerals targeted are commercially valuable, there are significant costs which need to be considered. The mining process can damage marine habitats and harm fish and invertebrates that live and forage on the seafloor. Seabed mining can also create sediment clouds in the water that smother or negatively impact plankton, groundfish, forage fish, and marine mammals. Such disruptions could generate cascading consequences for ecological resources, commercial fishing, and coastal communities.

“Opening up the coast of Virginia to seabed mining is an irresponsible decision that will harm our ocean, coastal economy, and way of life,” said Sam Burton, Southeast Regional Manager with Surfrider Foundation. “Virginia and the entire Eastern Seaboard relies on a healthy marine environment for their economic security. Mining the seabeds off Virginia will disturb tuna and sea turtle populations, change the topography of the seafloor, and potentially cause serious problems to Virginia's coastlines. The widespread consequences associated with seabed mining ought to cause our country’s leaders to pause and gather more information about how this decision might impact Americans in the years to come,”

The move by BOEM is connected to a larger vision set by the Trump Administration to unleash offshore critical minerals and resources for national security purposes. The Department of the Interior (DOI) responded by streamlining the project approval process for seabed exploration in U.S. waters. So far, the administration has targeted American Samoa and Alaska for potential seabed mining development. The administration is also weakening regulations for U.S. companies to mine in international waters, contradicting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and setting a dangerous international precedent. The addition of Virginia presents serious economic and environmental concerns for the Eastern Seaboard and begs a question of which waters might be next.

Surfrider urges our supporters and other concerned members of the public to speak out against proposed commercial seabed mining off Virginia.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has opened a public comment period until July 23, 2026. Suggested talking points focus on potential impacts to the marine ecosystem, fishing industries, coastal recreation, tourism, and sustainable economic development.

Sample Talking Points:

• I am very concerned about the potential authorization of seabed mining off of Virginia.
• Seabed mining involves industrial-scale prospecting for metals and other minerals along the ocean floor. Such activity can severely and potentially irreversibly damage marine habitats that nurture commercially and recreationally important fish, and numerous other species.
• The federal waters off Virginia are home to diverse marine ecosystems that provide enormous ecological value and support the economic well-being of the region.
• The Eastern Seaboard’s economy depends on a clean and healthy coastal environment to support its tourism, recreation, and fishing industries.
• In addition to direct physical destruction of habitat along the sea floor, seabed mining can create sediment clouds in the water column that disturb and harm sensitive marine life, including plankton, fish, whales, and dolphins.
• The waters off Virginia have important historical and cultural values that would be impacted by commercial seabed mining.
• Due to these reasons, I am opposed to opening this area for seabed mining.