Governing the ocean when the ocean has no owner

Governing the ocean when the ocean has no owner | Photo: Matt Hardy

Published on 22 March 2026 at 02:03 GMT

By Gabriela Casuso

My generation has grown up hearing that the ocean is in crisis. But we have also grown up watching governments negotiate how to protect the largest shared space on Earth: the high seas. For years, those negotiations felt distant: so technical and complex that feels almost abstract. Yet the decisions being made were about something real: the vast areas of the ocean that do not belong to any one country and, at the same time, belong to all of us.

The high seas are where migratory species travel across basins, where currents regulate the global climate, and where human activity continues to expand, often far from public attention, yet with very real consequences. It is a space without visible borders, but full of shared responsibility. And this is where governance becomes essential, not as bureaucracy, but as a simple and urgent question: how do we agree to care for what is collectively ours? How do we prevent what has no single owner from becoming something exploited without limits?

Recently, after years of negotiations, countries reached a historic agreement to protect biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, widely known as the High Seas Treaty, or BBNJ Agreement. While the name may sound technical, the idea behind it is straightforward: to create clear rules to conserve marine life beyond national borders.

For some, it may be just another international treaty. For my generation, it represents something more. It is proof that multilateral cooperation is still possible. That the ocean is beginning to be understood not only as an economic resource, but as a living system that requires precaution, science, and long-term thinking. 

But no treaty works on its own. 

Real governance does not end with a signature. It begins with implementation. It depends on scientific knowledge, transparent decision-making, capacity building, and public understanding. It depends on education: because without awareness, even the strongest agreements remain fragile.

I say this from an honest place: I am in my second semester of Biology, still learning every day about the complexity of marine ecosystems. The more I study, the clearer it becomes that political decisions cannot be separated from science. And that education is the bridge connecting both. The high seas need more than agreements. 

They need collective awareness. 

What happens far from the coast still affects coastal communities, food security, climate stability, and economies that rely on healthy marine ecosystems. The idea that “out of sight” means “out of impact” is one we can no longer afford.

Young people should not be present in these conversations as symbols of the future. No. We should be there as stakeholders of the present. The governance of the high seas will help define the ocean we inherit, and the stability of the systems that sustain life on Earth.

Governing the ocean does not mean controlling it. It means recognizing that we share responsibility for it. From coastal classrooms to international negotiations, the future of the high seas will depend on whether we understand that shared spaces require shared responsibility.