The initial version of the new legally binding instrument on the conservation and sustainable use of marine life in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) is now available from the U.N. here.

The World Ocean Council (WOC) has been participating in the BBNJ process since it began to ensure that the ocean business community is present and engaged in this effort to develop the most important new legal regime for the ocean since the establishment of the U.N. Law of the Sea.

A two-page WOC briefing on the BBNJ and implications for ocean industries can be found here.

The WOC will participate in the third round of BBNJ negotiations at the U.N. headquarters in New York in August 2019.