The High Seas Treaty has reached 100 parties after Germany, Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe, Canada, Australia and Brunei Darussalam deposited ratification papers at the U.N. General Assembly this week.
The milestone comes almost a year after the pact crossed the 60 ratifications needed to take effect. The agreement, formally the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty, entered into force on Jan. 17, 2026, after nearly two decades of talks. It is the first comprehensive legal framework for ocean life in areas beyond national waters, nearly half the planet’s surface.
The first Conference of the Parties is set for January 2027. That meeting is supposed to lock in institutions, voting rules, standards for environmental impact assessments and a path to highly and fully protected marine areas on the high seas. Only countries that have ratified can vote. The High Seas Alliance, which uses “High Seas Treaty” as shorthand for the full BBNJ text, including the seafloor and water column, said membership already spans maritime powers, small-island states, developing countries and some landlocked nations.
“ In many cultures, the number 100 carries real weight- whether it is a marker for age, an anniversary, or a symbol of luck and prosperity. For the High Seas Treaty, it marks the real momentum of the world uniting around ocean protection, even in divided times. But we cannot stop here,” said Rebecca Hubbard, Director of the High Seas Alliance. “We need more countries to ratify to achieve equitable global ocean protection by 2030. Parties need to show up ready to engage at COP1 so this wave of support turns into real decisions, not just symbolism. How countries engage in this first critical meeting will set the tone for every COP that follows, and too much is on the line to get this wrong.”
Regional groups welcomed the new deposits and pressed for follow-through. Dr. Aristide Takoukam Kamla of the African Marine Conservation Organization said African ratifications show the continent wants a hand in ocean rules, not a seat in the audience. Elle Lawless of Greenpeace Australia Pacific called Australia’s ratification historic but said the government should now push sanctuaries, including in the Tasman Sea. Susanna Fuller of Oceans North tied Canada’s step to the coming COP and to Canada’s role hosting the 12th Our Ocean Conference. Fabienne McLellan of OceanCare praised Germany’s early national implementing law.
One hundred parties is a political marker, not a finished reserve network. The next test is whether COP1 writes rules that actually limit industrial use of waters no single country owns.
