Launched this week, Deep Rising’s The World’s Largest Ocean Dispute is raising awareness about deep-sea mining, specifically in the Clarion-Clipperton Zone (CCZ). Spanning 4.5 million square kilometers in the Pacific Ocean, roughly eight times the size of France, the zone is estimated to hold over 21 billion dry tons of critical minerals like copper, nickel, cobalt and manganese — essential components for low-carbon tech like solar panels and EV batteries.
Companies are racing to convert the zone into the world’s largest mining site, but the planetary cost could be steep. In addition to being a critical carbon sink, the deep seabed is also the most expansive habitat for life on Earth. A 2023 study found that the CCZ alone is home to over 5,000 species not previously known to science, and deep-sea mining has been shown to shrink underwater life density by up to 56%. Inviting global citizens to take a stand against corporate lobbying, Deep Rising has divided the CCZ seabed into 8.17 billion GPS coordinates, representing the number of people on the planet, and invites each person to claim a coordinate to protect.
Every participant will be issued a unique DEEPSEA NFT stamped with the GPS coordinates they’ve claimed. Available in 90 languages, the NFTs feature depictions of deep sea creatures and are designed to be shared on social media. Notably, they’re offered at no cost. Users are sent a blockchain transaction verifying their claim, but a smart contract ensures the NFT can’t be transferred or speculated with. “Just as you wouldn’t share or sell your passport, this Birthright Certificate is yours alone.”
The CCZ is designated as a UN site of ‘common heritage of humankind’ to be held in trust for future generations. It’s meant to belong to all humans, not a property that private corporations can call dibs over. Leveraging web3’s principles of decentralization, Deep Rising’s NFTs allow people to stake their claim to this collective ownership — and collective responsibility. Whether that impacts the actions of corporations remains to be seen, but it’s a powerful message and reminder of our shared stewardship of the planet. The campaign is a pro-bono effort between Australian creative agency Emotive and the makers of the documentary Deep Rising, directed by Matthieu Rytz and narrated by Jason Momoa.
By Acacia Leroy
