Global News Changing Tides The first international agreement to protect the world's oceans aims to create “international parks” in the high seas. The high seas represent 95% of the world’s total habitat by volume, but the nautical world remains largely unexplored. “A sentiment we often encountered was that there’s not much in terms of biodiversity out there in the high seas,” he said. MPAs that already exist mostly occupy exclusive economic zones and only make up about 3% of the high seas. A 2016 Pew study on mapping governance in the high seas showed 19 governing bodies with a high seas mandate.

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