Canada shores up commitment to protect high seas with UN treaty set to become law

A landmark agreement to protect marine biodiversity on the high seas becomes international law on Saturday, but Canada still has not ratified the agreement, a step that would give the country an official role in ocean conservation measures.

More than 80 nations have ratified the High Seas Treaty, formally known as the Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ).