Conservation advocates call for public hearings, extension of comment period

11/24/2025 - Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands – Local advocacy group, Friends of the Mariana Trench, reaffirmed their strong opposition to deep sea mining, demanding greater transparency in the federal government’s motivations to rip up the seafloor in the Northern Mariana Islands to extract rare minerals.

On November 12, 2025, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) published in the Federal Register a Request for Information and Interest (RFI) that could potentially lead to a lease sale for minerals in the waters near the Mariana Trench, ancestral backyard of the Chamorro and Refaluwasch peoples.

“We call on the federal government to honor Governor Apatang’s request for a 120 day extension,” said  Ignacio "Ike" V. Cabrera, FOMT board chair emeritus and an ocean elder with the organization. “There also needs to be public hearings on each of our three largest islands so that our people can participate in the process.  It is unfair and unjust to burden our local agencies with this task, this needs to come from BOEM.”

"Deep sea mining should be on everyone's radar,” stated Kina Rangamar, a board member and youth leader. These are discussions we need to be having in and for our community because it is far more detrimental than we can imagine, much less endure. And unfortunately, it's not a conversation we can save for later. "

“As Pacific peoples, our ocean is not a resource to be sold—it is our oldest relative,” says Chairwoman Sheila Babauta. “Deep sea mining is a violent disruption of our ancestral waters, driven by profit and militarization, disconnected from the wisdom of those who have stewarded these places for thousands of years.”

“Our islands are not sacrifice zones,” she added. “We deserve governance frameworks that honor our sovereignty, protect biodiversity, and ensure reciprocal relationships with the ocean—not extractive ones.”

The organization’s position echoes growing regional and international calls for a halt to deep sea mining, including resolutions from Pacific Island nations and advocacy by youth, elders, and environmental coalitions. (PR)