Although understanding deep-sea ecosystems will require decades of additional scientific work (1), activation for the first time of the socalled “2-year rule” (2) in 2021 has put pressure on the International Seabed Authority (ISA) to rush the creation and adoption of a mining code. Negotiations related to mining in international waters should not be subject to a timeline imposed by commercial interests (3). To effectively protect the deep sea, states must take full account of available scientific evidence, including remaining uncertainties and unknowns.
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