KINGSTON, Jamaica – The Government says it will not allow deep-sea mining until the relevant regulatory framework, which includes protection of the marine environment, is created.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith said the framework is “underway” but says it remains unclear when the regulations would be finalised.

“This is not something which is imminent, and we’d like people to understand that as well,” she said at a post-Cabinet press briefing at Jamaica House on Wednesday. “That work [on the framework] is under way, but we are not at all clear when those regulations are likely to be finalised.”

The minister was responding to concerns about potential environmental issues if the practice should be pursued, through the International Seabed Authority.

Deep-sea mining involves extracting and excavating mineral deposits from the seabed at ocean depths greater than 200 metres. The deep seabed covers roughly two-thirds of the total seafloor.

The minister went on to emphasise that “protection of [Jamaica’s] marine environment is of paramount importance” while pointing out that within the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the area for deep-sea mining is “way beyond the national jurisdiction of any country.”

“There are geographically defined areas that are beyond the 227 square kilometres that surround every country as their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)… so they are way beyond, not only Jamaica’s coast but beyond that of any country,” the minister said.

The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an autonomous international organisation established under the 1982 UNCLOS and has had its headquarters based in Kingston since November 16, 1994.

The organisation has the mandate to ensure the effective protection of the marine environment from harmful effects that may arise from deep seabed-related activities.