For the past three weeks, the federal government has been accepting comments on a proposal to allow the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to lease lands near the Marianas Trench for deep-sea mining of critical minerals.
As of Wednesday, 107 comments had been submitted and posted, and a review by KPRG News shows that about 86% of commenters were against the proposal.
Of the 107 commenters, 92 stated clear opposition to any plan that would involve extracting minerals from the outer continental shelf east of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Most of those stated that seabed mining would be harmful to the environment or disruptive to fisheries.
Of the 15 comments that were not explicitly against mining, four were in favor, including one submission from a mining company.
Four others were in favor with conditions, such as local involvement in the process.
They said seabed mining provides economic opportunities, with one writing that the plan provides a chance “for the CNMI and its people to finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.”
Three, including a joint statement from the governors of Guam and the CNMI, called for extending the comment period, and three others called for more research on deep-sea mining.
One commenter didn’t offer an opinion on the subject, but wrote that “all comments regarding America should be only from born Americans.”
While some commenters offered scientific opinions about seabed mining, citing research from journals, others took a simpler, sometimes humorous approach.
"I'd much prefer if you didn't come here. We need to take every step to conserve this ecosystem, and any extractive industry will make that harder," one commenter wrote. "Instead, please consider opening a Little Caesars. We need more/better pizza here; it'll create jobs and make us all happy. The mining nonsense will not."
If you have an opinion about whether the federal government should allow seabed mining in the region, you have until 11:59 p.m. EST Dec. 12 to review the proposal and submit comments at https://www.regulations.gov/document/BOEM-2025-0351-0001/.
