Oceans North

“The CAO offers a rare chance to do things differently. To protect before we exploit.”

💬 Sheena Kennedy, Executive Director, Oceans North

On June 11th, and brought together voices from around the world to celebrate the Central Arctic Ocean and highlight the call from over a thousand scientists who are asking for a new agreement to limit new industrial activity in the area and adopt a precautionary approach based on Indigenous and scientific knowledge.

Today, we’re happy to share the highlights with you.

🎥 Watch the recap at the link in bio!


📸 Anders Peters

🧐 How much of a problem is Arctic shipping noise for narwhal?

A new article highlights recently published research from , , and the Mittimatalik Hunters and Trappers Organization on how these whales are responding to ship noise in Eclipse Sound, Nunavut.

In line with long-standing Inuit knowledge and observations, reporter .thornhill.verma explains that researchers have found narwhal to be sensitive to ship noise at longer distances and lower volumes than science previously assumed.

“We’re starting to understand that the impact of constant ship traffic is having long-term effects and displacing narwhals to neighbouring communities,” says Alex Ootoowak, Field Technician at Oceans North and one of the study’s authors.

The positive is that it’s not too late to take action. Canada and Panama recently launched the High Ambition Coalition for a Quiet Ocean, an international declaration signed by 37 countries who are committed to tackling ocean noise pollution from shipping.

Canada is also taking measures to reduce ship noise domestically through Transport Canada initiatives and a soon-to-be-released Ocean Noise Strategy, though more needs to be done.

The science is unequivocal—deep-sea mining would cause irreversible damage to marine ecosystems and is incompatible with international commitments to protect ocean health and tackle the biodiversity and climate crises.

Oceans North is at the International Seabed Authority (ISA) meeting in Kingston, Jamaica, to work towards an international moratorium on deep-sea mining.

Alongside various NGO and institutional partners at the , Oceans North will continue to push for Canada to…

🎙️ Reassert its position supporting a moratorium on deep-sea mining at the ISA

💬 Advocate for transparent processes, especially the participation of civil society, Indigenous peoples, and independent scientists in the meetings

❌ Reject efforts to accelerate the Mining Code

It is more important than ever that Canada increases efforts to support a pause, moratorium, or ban on deep-sea mining—working towards responsible and precautionary governance of the international seabed and the protection of the marine environment for generations to come.


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