Don't Let Mining Companies Plunder the Pacific

The Trump administration could soon open the door to industrial mining in one of the Pacific Ocean's most extraordinary marine ecosystems.

American mining companies are seeking permission to explore vast stretches of the deep seafloor for valuable minerals, potentially transforming fragile underwater habitats into industrial extraction zones.

A new Mongabay investigation reveals that two U.S. companies have applied for exploration licenses in international waters near the Cook Islands, Kiribati, and French Polynesia.

One proposed exploration area alone spans approximately 39,000 square miles — an enormous expanse of ocean used by migrating whales, sea turtles, sharks, and other marine wildlife. It also borders a strictly protected marine reserve in French Polynesia.

Among the species found in these waters is the critically endangered oceanic whitetip shark, already pushed toward extinction by human activities.

The deep ocean is not an industrial wasteland waiting to be exploited. It's a living ecosystem we have barely begun to understand.

Deep-sea mining could damage fragile seafloor habitats, release sediment plumes that harm marine organisms, and generate underwater noise that disrupts whales and other wildlife.

Some deep-sea ecosystems could take centuries or longer to recover from industrial disturbance — if they recover at all.

Pacific conservation organizations are sounding the alarm. French Polynesia's government has formally opposed one company's application, while regional environmental advocates are urging American regulators to reject the proposals.

Yet the Trump administration is pursuing a controversial U.S. licensing process outside the international system established to regulate seabed mining in international waters.

No mining company should get to gamble with an entire ocean ecosystem for private profit.

NOAA has the authority to reject these applications before exploration opens the door to far more destructive activities.

Tell NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs: Reject these deep-sea mining applications and protect Pacific marine wildlife!

The petition to NOAA Administrator Neil Jacobs reads: Reject pending deep-sea mining exploration applications in the South Pacific. Protect endangered sharks, whales, sea turtles, and fragile deep-ocean ecosystems. Respect the concerns of Pacific Island communities and conservation organizations, and support a precautionary moratorium on commercial deep-sea mining. Our oceans belong to future generations, not mining companies.
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Sources:

https://news.mongabay.com/2026/11/us-companies-apply-to-explore-deep-sea-mining-in-area-bordering-pacific-island-states/

https://oceanservice.noaa.gov/deep-seabed-mineral-resources/deep-seabed-mining/