UN Agreement for the Protection of the High Seas

UN member states have reached an agreement after years of negotiations to protect the high seas that cover nearly half of the planet.

Reina Lee, president of the conference that discussed the agreement at UN headquarters in New York, said: "The ship has come ashore."

After more than 15 years of informal and then formal talks, negotiators held a closed-door session yesterday to focus on the sensitive issue of the distribution of proceeds from genetic resources collected on the high seas.

Controversial points that were hindering agreement included procedures for the establishment of marine protected areas, the model for environmental impact studies for planned activities on the high seas, and the sharing of potential benefits of newly discovered marine resources.

The high seas zone starts at the point where the exclusive economic zones of states end, a maximum of 200 nautical miles (370 kilometers) from the coast. It is not subject to any national jurisdiction of States. The high seas account for more than 60% of the world's oceans and about half of the planet's surface area.