2026 Universitat de les Illes Balears, ERC Project Ocean Crimes Narratives, Seas of Consequences, Mallorca, ES, 15-17 Apr.
Capture & Classify: The Ungovernability of Soft Sea Bodies.
Katherine G. Sammler (independent researcher) and Solomon Sebuliba (University of the Balearic Islands).
Abstract: Over the past decade, prospecting for seabed minerals in the Pacific’s Clarion–Clipperton Zone (CCZ) has led to the detection of more than 5,000 potential new species. Only a few hundred have been formally described, as species description has traditionally required an intact physical specimen, a holotype, to stabilize taxa within scientific and legal knowledge frameworks. However, traditional methods of capture, such as robotic arms on remotely operated vehicles, frequently damage or destroy delicate organisms, particularly soft-bodied and gelatinous bodies like deep-sea jellies, octopus, and squid. As the International Seabed Authority (ISA) prepares to evaluate CCZ mining applications covering approximately 1.5 million square kilometers of seabed, the long-standing practice of environmental impact assessment (EIA) will be a crucial mechanism through which large scale extraction is assessed and authorized. However, as the methods of capture and classification are hindered by the deep-sea, the listing and potential protection produced through EIAs are as well. Legal protection of species relies on taxonomic registries that require organisms to be captured, counted, named, and classified. Drawing on CCZ EIAs, marine endangered species listings, and policy debates within the ISA, this study traces the co-production of emerging seabed mining governance and marine biological knowledge, showing how deep-sea organisms evade governability. We show that the ungovernability of soft-bodied life is not simply a consequence of limited data or inadequate tools, but an effect of how standard evaluation practices are maladapted to recognize the diverse forms of deep-sea life, with potential for great environmental harm at sea.
Slides:
Video of Presentation:
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