Britain has now put the High Seas Treaty into domestic law. The Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Act received Royal Assent on 12 February 2026-less than a month after the treaty itself entered into force globally on 17 January 2026. Together, they move ocean protection from promises to procedures. (hansard.parliament.uk)

Why this matters is scale. Areas beyond national jurisdiction account for about 61% of the ocean’s surface and 73% of its volume. The treaty’s four pillars-marine genetic resources and benefit‑sharing, area‑based tools such as high‑seas protected areas, environmental impact assessment, and capacity‑building-now have a UK rulebook behind them. (commonslibrary.parliament.uk)

For any UK craft planning to collect marine genetic resources (MGR) on the high seas, the project lead must file a full pre‑collection information package and wait seven months before sampling. That waiting period can be shortened only if the Secretary of State finds a compelling reason, and post‑collection reporting is due as soon as available and no later than 11 months after sampling ends. This is designed to give science time while making expeditions visible and accountable. (bills.parliament.uk)

Once material or data comes home, the utilisation rules start. UK‑based teams using MGR must deposit physical samples in a publicly accessible repository, and anyone using digital sequence information (DSI) must record it in a publicly accessible database. Both tasks must be completed within three years of a project’s start and tagged with the BBNJ Article 12(3) identifier so that findings can be traced. (bills.parliament.uk)

Data will not sit in a drawer. The Act lets the Secretary of State share submitted information with the treaty’s Clearing‑House Mechanism, streamlining visibility across countries while protecting information covered by national security or not required by Article 51. In short: default to share, with guardrails where needed. (bills.parliament.uk)

Transparency extends to infrastructure. UK repositories holding high‑seas samples and UK databases hosting DSI must ensure the material is labelled as ABNJ‑derived, provide access for others’ use subject to conditions consistent with Article 14(4), and report, every two years, how often those samples or sequences were accessed. This bakes open science into the system. (bills.parliament.uk)

Environmental diligence is widened. The Act updates marine licensing so that UK‑linked activities in the high seas face environmental impact assessment where there are reasonable grounds to expect substantial pollution or significant and harmful change. Regulators must also presume assessment where effects are more than minor or transitory-or simply unknown or poorly understood-so uncertainty no longer equals a free pass. (bills.parliament.uk)

Some activities remain outside scope. Licensed fishing and associated science under the Fisheries Act 2020, defence vessels and operations, and anything done in Antarctica are excluded to avoid overlap with existing regimes. The target here is biodiversity research and industrial R&D that need clearer rules on access, use and sharing. (bills.parliament.uk)

What happens next is implementation. Ministers must publish guidance and lay it before Parliament, and several provisions will commence on dates set by regulation. With Royal Assent secured, the UK can move towards depositing its instrument of ratification; the first Conference of the Parties is expected this year, following UN preparatory work already under way. (bills.parliament.uk)

For researchers and data leads, think in three clocks. First, a seven‑month runway before collection begins-use it to map sites, partners and any sensitive data issues. Second, a three‑year window from the start of a utilisation project to deposit samples and register DSI in public, with the correct Article 12(3) identifiers. Third, a two‑year reporting cycle for repositories and databases-set up counters now so the first return is painless. (bills.parliament.uk)

For industry, this is the clarity long requested: predictable access conditions, open‑data defaults, and a pathway for benefit‑sharing once COP decisions land. NGOs including IUCN call the treaty’s entry into force a turning point for species that roam far from national waters; the UK framework means companies can innovate while meeting fair‑share obligations. (iucnsos.org)

Context for 2026: the treaty crossed its 60‑party threshold on 19 September 2025, starting a 120‑day countdown to 17 January 2026. Expect a busy first year focused on standards, finance and governance at COP-where the UK will want a seat and, now, has the primary legislation to back it. (un.org)