Julia Sigwart, who coordinated the assessments for the IUCN SSC Mollusc Specialist Group, stated that in 2021 the IUCN voted for a moratorium on deep-sea mining unless all risks are understood and the marine environment is effectively protected.
Notes on verification
Direct quote confirmed verbatim in official IUCN press release and echoed across multiple independent news outlets; underlying factual claim about the 2021 IUCN Congress vote (Motion 069/Resolution 122) corroborated by independent contemporaneous reporting and IUCN's own later statements.
Sources
- IUCN Warns Seabed Mining Threatens Rare Molluscs | MarineBio (marinebio.org)
- https://iucn.org/press-release/202607/desert-frog-deep-sea-molluscs-remarkable-species-risk-iucn-red-list (iucn.org)
- https://www.thestar.com.my/lifestyle/living/2026/07/16/deep-sea-mining-menaces-molluscs-conservationists-warn-in-updated-039red-list039 (thestar.com.my)
- https://www.downtoearth.org.in/wildlife-biodiversity/desert-rain-frog-over-half-of-molluscs-pushed-towards-extinction-iucn-red-list (downtoearth.org.in)
- https://iucn.org/dg-statement/202303/iucn-director-generals-open-letter-isa-members-deep-sea-mining (iucn.org)
- https://news.mongabay.com/2021/09/deep-sea-mining-gets-a-resounding-rejection-from-conservation-authorities/ (news.mongabay.com)