Sent 19 June 2020. Part of Little Blue Letter.

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean;
if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty."
~ Mahatma Gandhi
Will the pandemic fast-track seabed mining?
  • The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has disrupted negotiations for developing seabed mining regulations
  • One company, Deep Green, says it is considering invoking a rule that would compel approval of mining plans within 2 years.
  • The head of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the body responsible for passing a mining code, has been surprisingly vocal in his opposition to a moratorium on seabed mining, saying that it would be 'anti-science, anti-knowledge, anti-development, and anti-international law'.
  • "It is crucial to ensure that the current crisis is not used as an excuse to ‘fast-track’ any decision-making by curtailing the prevailing norms of due process, inclusivity and good governance”, says Duncan Currie, international lawyer and member of the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition
  • The Secretary-General of the ISA is a self-described "advocate for rule of law in the ocean", but his independence has been called into question.
ISA Secretary-General Michael Lodge, pictured wearing a Deep Green hard hat and an SDG badge.
© Michael Lodge
Quick reads
  • Some thoughts on how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting funding for marine conservation.
  • "We can restock the oceans by 2050, netting $10 for every $1 spent on conservation — here’s how"
Nudibranch of the week
5 facts about the 'bunny sea slug' here.
Water in your ears

  • Learn about how Athelstan Spilhaus designed an oceanic thermometer to fight the Nazis, a weather balloon that got mistaken for a UFO in Roswell, and the Spilhaus projection map:

From the editor
The annual conference of the Institute of Marine Engineering, Science & Technology (IMarEST) will this year be held as a flexible two-week virtual event (and the programme looks absolutely fantastic!).

We are living in the golden age of webinars, so it can be difficult to keep track. Here is a collaborative online listing of over 100 ocean webinars that you can watch at your leisure. Feel free to add an event using this form.

Little Blue Letter was curated this week by a spiny king crab.
Editing etc. by Glen Wright. Glen is a researcher studying marine governance, the high seas, and ocean energy. He is a drinker of tea, lover of the sea, and an Oxford comma user. 
Glen recently published Academia Obscura: The Hidden Silly Side of Higher Education.
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