Who's the king of the high seas? 

Nobody. 

To whom does the ocean floor belong?

All of us.  

A playground for whales, pirates, fishing trawlers and cargo ships, the High Seas make up most of the blue planet. Yet humans spend very little time interacting with, or even thinking about them.

But that's not the case for Dr Ellycia Harrould-Kolieb, expert on global ocean governance at the University of Melbourne. We talk about the ocean as archive of human history, the international accords and treaties which shape how we interact with the 'commons', and sobering developments in Deep Sea Mining. 

LINKS: 

https://www.dosi-project.org/

https://deep-sea-conservation.org/

https://findanexpert.unimelb.edu.au/profile/443897-ellycia-harrould-kolieb

Artwork by Alexandra Gwynne