oceanography

The deadline passed and after two marathon nights of meetings, the delegations of the UN member states have managed to reach an agreement to make the so-called Oceans Treaty - or BBNJ Treaty, Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction - a reality. New York City has seen the fifth session of this conference bear fruit with an agreement on the wording of the text, seventeen years after the talks began and with negotiations stalled last August due to a lack of agreement. The Treaty aims to protect and regulate the use of areas beyond national jurisdiction, which account for more than 60% of the oceans, or almost half of the planet. Marine genetic resources and how to share these benefits has been one of the main stumbling blocks.

A study published in PLOS ONE reveals that more than 2,600 bacteria live on average on each floating microfibre in the Mediterranean Sea, belonging to 195 bacterial species. This waste from plastic pollution, textiles and fishing activities, once colonised, smells like food and is consumed by marine animals. Among them, pathogenic Vibrio species have been found, a bacterium that can be a threat to bathing and seafood consumption.

The so-called Oceans Treaty, promoted by the UN, has had to be stopped, not concluded, due to the impossibility of reaching an agreement. After a process of more than 16 years, only half a session separates us from the word failure. Let us hope that the resumption of the last session, possibly in the spring of 2023, will offer us the agreement we all wish for.

According to a study off the coasts of France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Slovenia and Greece, catches of threatened elasmobranchs are higher in partially protected areas than in unprotected areas, suggesting that small-scale fishing may be affecting these species.