Category: Actions

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) holds the responsibility for issuing licenses for exploration and permits for commercial recovery of polymetallic nodules from the deep seabed in areas beyond national jurisdiction through the Deep Seabed Hard Mineral Resources Act (DSHMRA). Currently, the NOAA is proposing revisions to consolidate the license and permit review process for companies. You can read more about the proposed revisions here.

Our team has taken a stance on this issue to oppose the revisions to the DSHMRA. These revisions are aligned to expedite the President’s Executive Order (E.O) 14285. We believe the processes for obtaining the exploration license and the commercial recovery permit should remain separate because it ensures diligence in the review process before enacting harm to the ocean. 

We call upon our community to support and stand in opposition:

• Sign onto our community open letter. Share the open letter with your friends and family!
• Create a copy of the letter and submit it on your own to the regulations.gov website
• Follow @socalpicrt_pacificpower for updates, and reshare content on deep sea mining. 

The deadline to submit public comment is tonight, September 5th, at 8:59pm PT, 11:59pm ET.

Dear BOEM Officials,

We, the undersigned, stand in firm and unified opposition to the proposed plans for deep sea mining in the waters of American Samoa. We write this letter as individuals, families, and allies with ties to the Pacific and climate justice. We strongly urge the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to take seriously the environmental, cultural, and community risks posed by any future deep-sea mining activities in U.S. waters, particularly in the Pacific.

It is our shared belief that the ocean is not a resource to be exploited. As Pasifika people, we know the ocean as an extension of our culture and our humanity. The people of Samoa and across Oceania must be recognized as experts in their own right, as stewards and the traditional caretakers of the Pacific long before Western governments existed. Deep-sea mining poses a direct threat to the traditions of Fa’a Samoa, the traditional Samoan way of life— disrupting the cultural, environmental, and spiritual foundations of Samoan identity.

The waters surrounding American Samoa are home to some of the world’s richest biodiversity, including endangered species and fragile deep-sea ecosystems that have remained untouched for millennia. They are part of a delicate balance that sustains marine life, and nourishes our people physically, spiritually, and culturally.

The long-term environmental costs far outweigh any short-term profits that might be gained. There is no proven way to safely mine the deep sea. Once the damage is done, it cannot be undone.

In 2024, American Samoa issued a moratorium against deep sea mining. The BOEM must recognize the importance of upholding this moratorium, and respect the wishes of those who call the Pacific Ocean their home.

“The sea is our pathway to each other and to everyone else; it is our endless saga, the realm of our ancestors and the source of our sustenance.”

— Epeli Hauʻofa, “Our Sea of Islands” (1993)

Leave the seabed in peace. Protect our ocean. Honor our ancestors and traditional knowledge.