“The Spirit of the Sea”: Jamaica’s Taino Chief’s historic address at International Seabed Authority calls for moratorium on deep sea mining

According to Petchary, Let’s face it. The International Seabed Authority (ISA) , with its headquarters perched on the edge of Kingston Harbour in Jamaica, is heavy going. What do I mean by that? During its meetings, whether of the Council or the Assembly, discussions are long, complex, often frustrating, and quite often controversial. After all, the ISA’s mandate is a huge and weighty one: to “organize, regulate, and control” all mineral-resource related activities in the Area (the seabed and ocean floor and the subsoil thereof, beyond the limits of national jurisdiction) “for the benefit of humankind as a whole.” Phew! But I have a lot of catching up to do, so I am going to do some reading and present to you, at a slightly later date, the most important decisions to come out of the ISA’s recent meetings. I promise – it won’t be boring! The ISA Council convened for the secon