Los Angeles, CA — The Southern California Pacific Islander Community Response Team (SoCal PICRT), in collaboration with a growing coalition of Pasifika (Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander) individuals and community-based organizations across California, launched Defend Our Moana: Say NO To Deep Sea Mining in late July, a grassroots campaign mobilizing collective opposition to deep sea mining plans proposed off the coast of American Samoa.
The campaign emerges in direct response to a recent notice from the United States Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), announcing a 30-day Request for Information and Interest (RFI) period for potential commercial leasing of the Pacific Outer Continental Shelf for deep seabed mining—with a looming public comment deadline of August 15, 2025. This action follows the current administration’s April 2025 “Unleashing America’s Offshore Critical Minerals” Executive Order, which called on federal agencies to expedite exploration and extraction of critical minerals from U.S. waters.
Defending the Deep: Why We’re Mobilizing
The targeted area near American Samoa is not only ecologically unique but also deeply sacred—home to ocean ecosystems that are irreplaceable and central to Samoan and other Pasifika cultures, livelihoods, and entire ways of life. Deep sea mining, a high-impact industrial process, threatens to devastate these habitats and interconnected communities by scraping the ocean floor, releasing pollutant sediment plumes, harming marine life, and more, leaving irreversible destruction to an environment already vulnerable to sea level rise and ocean acidification.
Pacific Islander communities—who have always understood the ocean not as a resource, but as an ancestor, identity, and lifeblood—are sounding the alarm.
“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.” (Defend Our Moana campaign open letter)
The campaign’s call to action is clear: rise up, speak out, and submit public comment to BOEM opposing deep sea mining in the Pacific. Community members can use the coalition’s toolkit at bit.ly/deepseaminingtoolkit to write and submit comments before the August 15 deadline.
Defend Our Moana: A Campaign Rooted in Culture and Community
As part of the campaign, the coalition is hosting social media initiatives, online teach-ins, letter-writing workshops, in-person programming, and working across faith groups, environmental justice organizations, and students to ensure Oceania and her children are not left out of this conversation.
The Defend Our Moana coalition calls on all Pacific Islander communities, allies, and advocates for Indigenous and environmental justice to:
- Submit a public comment to BOEM before August 15
- Join our mailing list to stay informed about campaign actions
- Share your story about why protecting the moana matters to you
Stand with us in demanding a moratorium on deep sea mining.
About SoCal PICRT
The Southern California Pacific Islander Community Response Team (SoCal PICRT) is a community based organization formed in response to crises impacting our Pacific Islander communities. Rooted in Indigenous values and collective care, SoCal PICRT works to mobilize culturally grounded resources, support systems, and organizing power to protect the health, environment, and sovereignty of Pacific peoples.
About NHPI Partners from Across California
A growing network of Pacific Islander-led and allied organizations from across California has united under the Defend Our Moana campaign. Bringing deep roots in environmental justice and community organizing, partners include ‘Anamatangi Polynesian Voices, Climate Resilient Communities, and the Pacific Islander Community Partnership. Together, they are amplifying Pacific voices, advancing cultural stewardship, and mobilizing collective action to protect the ocean for future generations.
For media inquiries or interviews, please contact:
Shana Coleman shana@socalpicrt.org & ‘Alisi Tulua alisi@socalpicrt.org
Website: defendourmoana.org
Teach-In: https://youtu.be/iy0yTfe5F60?si=TLMiEa47-L88_X7P
Townhall: https://www.youtube.com/live/3ZRxaNSyIMk?si=gtY8Rf4FOEW501jhInstagram: @socalpicrt @socalpicrt_pacificpower