This action is an ocean literacy project highlighting the threats to our Ocean Heritage, both natural and cultural, from bottom trawling, deep seabed mining, and potentially polluting wrecks.
The action consists of three open access books, four workshops on PPWs, and associated multimedia products which target both stakeholders and the general public. The action is a collaboration between The Ocean Foundation, Lloyd’s Register Foundation Heritage and Education Centre and has collaboration with other organisations such as ICOMOS-ICUCH and DSCC.
One book on underwater cultural heritage and bottom trawling and one on potentially polluting wrecks will be published (Mayo 2024) as part of the Springer Briefs in Underwater Archaeology Series. A book highlighting the threats from seabed mining will be published as an edition of ICOMOS Heritage at Risk series. The books are intended as education outreach resources that will shine a light on how these activities are threats not only to UCH but also to natural heritage. This is a call to action and includes recommending a moratoria on the activities until scientific surveys and research have been done and baseline information about our ocean heritage (natural and cultural) is integrated into Environmental Impact Assessments, Marine Spatial Planning– including the setting aside of significant natural and cultural heritage as Marine Protected Areas.