Carmichael speaks in Global Ocean Treaty debate

Orkney and Shetland MP, Alistair Carmichael, has today spoken during a parliamentary debate on the Global Ocean Treaty, on the need for greater action on plastic pollution and to preserve biodiversity in the seas. The Global Ocean Treaty aims to establish a legal mechanism for marine conservation in international waters, as well as afford other protections to shared marine resources and the marine environment. 

The Treaty was agreed by UN negotiators on 6 March 2023 following nearly a decade of negotiations. The UK Government was one of the first signatories to the treaty and intends to ratify it in the next Parliament. 

The treaty is an update to the main international agreement on the oceans, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which established the high seas as international waters in which all countries can fish, ship and do research. UNCLOS did not include any specific protections for marine biodiversity; the global ocean treaty will change that by providing a legal framework for establishing marine protected areas, to protect against the loss of marine wildlife and share the genetic resources of the high seas.

Speaking during the debate, Mr Carmichael said:

“I am quite happy to acknowledge the leading role the Government have taken in the past 10 years that has brought us to the agreement of this treaty. The target of a 30% protected area for the high seas is a significant one. It will not be easy to achieve, but it is an important goal that we should aspire to. 

“Of course, what happens on the high seas may be outwith the jurisdiction of our territorial waters and our exclusive economic zone out to 200 miles, but it is still nevertheless important for the inshore waters on which we rely in my constituency in particular, so we see this as an important opportunity for us. For Britain to step up to the plate and give early ratification would make a significant difference.

“The truth of the matter is that, so often things that happen on the high seas happen in a state of ignorance, because we simply do not know what goes on there. That is not just in environmental areas: if we consider the labour standards and rates of pay on many deep-water fleets, we will see a similar situation.

“One of the most important aspects of the treaty is the duty that it gives to parties to assess the environmental impacts of things such as plastics. The growth of plastic pollution has been a blight on our shores for decades. The alarming thing I have found in recent years is that when I do a litter-pick on a beach and end up looking at it and thinking, “Well, this is absolutely pristine,” I then spend another 10 or 15 minutes carefully going over it and realise that even in that short time I can fill a carrier-bag with small pieces of plastic. The blight of plastic pollution must be tackled.

“We used to have lots of unique biodiversity; we did not have to look to the high seas and the oceans for it. On dry land, however, we have already seen the loss of so much of our critical biodiversity and I fear that it has probably gone forever.

“This treaty is for all of us a second chance. Our oceans are the lungs of our planet and if we do not take the action necessary for the ratification of this treaty now, we risk treating the biodiversity of our high seas in the same way that we have treated the biodiversity on dry land, and we will all be poorer as a consequence.”