The High Seas Treaty finally came into effect this month after ratification by 61 states, yet prominent conservationists warn that the legislation remains a “piece of paper” without the means to enforce it.
Authors Paul Watson and Sarah Levy argue in their new book, The Only Flag Worth Flying, that international diplomacy alone cannot save the ocean from warming, acidification and industrial exploitation. Watson, the founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, who is currently wanted by the Japanese state, advocates for “aggressive non-violent” direct action to fill the void left by government inaction.
Levy, a researcher at the Centre for Socio-Legal Studies at the University of Oxford, highlights the fundamental weakness in current global agreements.
“While international environmental law has expanded significantly over recent decades, its effectiveness remains constrained by structural features of the system itself,” Levy explains. “International treaties generally rely on state consent and domestic implementation, and there is no centralised global enforcement authority to ensure compliance on the high seas.”
Centralised global enforcement
The High Seas Treaty officially entered into force on 17 January 2026, following years of negotiation. However, the authors contend that without a centralised global enforcement authority, treaties such as UNCLOS and CITES depend entirely on state will and capacity, which are often insufficient to counter profitable industrial activities such as deep-sea mining.
“What use is a high seas treaty to protect marine ecosystems? Without enforcement, it is simply a piece of paper,” the authors write. “To this very day, the high seas remain a lawless place where economic anarchy reigns and the greedy thrive.”
The book suggests that in the absence of state intervention, direct action — such as interfering with whaling operations or boarding oil rigs — becomes a moral imperative rather than criminal activity. The authors frame the high seas as a global commons in which the duty of protection is shared among all citizens.
“Direct action is not merely a tactic of resistance, but a necessary, and increasingly indispensable, form of conservation enforcement in a world where states often refuse or fail to act,” the authors state.
