According to Australian enviro-lawyer Dr. David Leary, biotechnology companies are profiting from living resources in the ocean without having to follow laws to ensure their actions are sustainable or even fair. Leary is concerned that unregulated bioprospecting of the deep sea could harm those environments and lead to a break-down in the ecosystems there. Among the many products biotech companies are helping to provide are cosmetics, bone-healing drugs, and artificial blood. (No, not that kind of artificial blood.)

While Leary does not want to "kill the industry" through over-regulation, he believes companies should be required to conduct rigorous environmental impact assessment to confirm that their actions are not detrimental. He further suggests that any patents on products derived from the deep sea should be granted only if the patent-holder pays into a fund to protect the deep sea, which sounds like an excellent idea...that'll never happen. Personally, I'm a firm believer that MORE laws do not make the world a BETTER place. However, I agree that these companies should not be allowed to destroy ecosystems in the pursuit of profit.

Considering how much we've learned about deep-water biodiversity in just the past few weeks -- from the new species discovered near Bermuda; to the heretofore unknown lives of sea slugs; to the fact that deepwater reefs are as abundant and rich as their shallower cousins; to the stark awareness that 40% of all organisms on the planet are threatened with extinction -- this will no doubt become a hot topic in the coming months. My guess is that the UN and other international agencies will try to hash out a proposal to protect these deep ocean environments, but enforcing any mandates will be virtually impossible. Let's hope Leary puts forth some solid, simple suggestions when he presents his arguments to the UN.  

[Via Digg]