Imagine diving into the crystal-clear waters offshore of Miami, only to find yourself surrounded by a scene of devastation. A moonscape. The water, once teeming with life, is clouded with sediment, and vibrant coral reefs are now buried beneath a layer of sand. This is the grim reality made manifest by the PortMiami dredging project that occurred from 2013 to 2015. The project resulted in catastrophic damage to adjacent coral reefs, triggering legal action by Miami Waterkeeper and co-plaintiffs. Despite the dredging company’s initial attempts to downplay the environmental impact, subsequent scientific research uncovered extensive coral mortality, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has now released a report that supports our finding that millions of corals were likely killed and at least 278 acres of the Florida Reef Tract were severely impacted.
Add your name to the official letter to stop deep-sea mining, and we’ll deliver your signature to United Nations and International Seabed Authority Leaders.
Update: 27 nations have now taken positions against deep-sea mining in international waters: Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Mexico, Monaco, New Zealand, Palau, Panama, Peru, Portugal, Samoa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, the kingdom of Denmark, the Dominican Republic, the United Kingdom, and Vanuatu.
For decades, large corporations have poisoned rivers, devastated forests, and displaced communities. Now, they’re rushing to mine minerals from the last untouched frontier on the planet — the deep sea.
The deep sea may be vast and unexplored, but it is incredibly important. It encompasses 95% of the ocean’s volume and is the largest and least explored of Earth’s ecosystems. Some scientists believe that the deep sea and its water column may be the largest carbon sink on Earth, and new species are still being found there.
