Commentary

Scientific advances have made genetic data more valuable and available than ever, but broad accessibility to potentially dangerous compounds can be risky. UN delegates negotiating a High Seas Treaty should weigh any proposal to widely disseminate novel genetic information against the realities of twenty-first century biological security concerns.

The ocean data revolution can help states improve offshore governance. But policymakers should consider how ownership over ocean data distributes power, so that seafaring superpowers, such as China and Russia, do not exploit uneven access to data to dominate marine resources.

SOS hosted the Second Annual CSIS Ocean Security Forum on January 7, 2020. Representative Jared Huffman (D-CA) and Vice Admiral Daniel B. Abel provided keynote remarks. The event featured expert panels on China’s distant-water fishing and on the relationship between illicit fishing and human rights abuses in the seafood industry.

The Arctic is warming faster than any other part of the planet, threatening ecosystems and biodiversity. How should the Arctic be governed to conserve fragile ecosystems, maintain U.S. security, and improve transparency?

Whitley Saumweber and Ty Loft highlight the opportunities for action raised in a Stephenson Ocean Security Project event on how climate change is shaping maritime sustainability, sovereignty, and security.

Global ocean leaders met in Oslo last month for the sixth installment of the Our Ocean Conference where participants announced 370 commitments to improve the health, resiliency, and security of the world’s seas. Over the last few months, we analyzed the commitments and this is what we found.

Treaty negotiators laying the groundwork for a high seas protected area system must thread an environmental-security needle, balancing sound, science-based conservation with forthright engagement of geopolitical realities.

SOS director Whitley Saumweber moderates a Capitol Hill Ocean Week panel on strategies to increase seafood supply chain transparency in the fight against illegal, unregulated, and unreported fishing.

In Peru's Tropical Pacific Sea, two main forces–industrial fishing fleets and foreign pirates–threaten small-scale fishing communities.

A new feature by CSIS’s Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative uses satellite imagery to document renewed illegal Chinese clam harvesting in the South China Sea.

The Stephenson Ocean Security Project launched Wednesday, January 9, 2019. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) provided keynote remarks. The event featured expert panels that explored the intersection of fisheries and security risk in the South China Sea and the challenge and opportunity presented by marine resources in the new Arctic Ocean.

Illicit fishing poses a global challenge to sustainability and security.  Harmonizing the U.S. Government’s broad legal and authorities and enforcement capabilities is a needed step to effectively counter this threat.

Combatting illicit fishing will require countries to develop common regional approaches to legal authorities and adjudication in order to fully take advantage of new enforcement capabilities.