On October 19, 2026, in Hamilton, Bermuda, the Principality of Monaco—represented by H.E. Isabelle Picco, Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the United Nations—signed the Hamilton II Declaration for the Protection of the Sargasso Sea, in the presence of British Minister Uma Kumaran, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Overseas Territories and the Caribbean.
Gathered at the residence of the British Governor of Bermuda, representatives of the authorities of the Azores, Bermuda, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, the Turks and Caicos Islands, and the United Kingdom—as well as numerous nongovernmental organizations—joined this initiative, which aims to strengthen the protection of this iconic area of the North Atlantic. By signing this document, the Government of the Prince of Monaco reaffirms its commitment to ocean conservation and to international cooperation for the protection of marine environments.
Ahead of the first Conference of the Parties to the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity in the High Seas (MBNJ Agreement), to be held in New York in January 2027, this Declaration aims, in particular, to highlight the global importance of this marine ecosystem and seeks to encourage States to adopt binding measures to protect it.
The BBNJ Agreement—an acronym forBiodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction, also known asthe High Seas Treaty—is the first legally binding global treaty dedicatedto the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdictions, namely the high seas and the international seabed.
The Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic is bounded on the west by the Greater Antilles and the Gulf Stream, on the north by the North Atlantic Current, on the east by the Canary Current, and on the south by the North Equatorial Current. It is approximately 3,200 km long and 1,100 km wide. It takes its name from the characteristic floating brown algae of the genusSargassum(Sargassum natansandSargassum fluitans), which form vast drifting algal mats and serve as a vital resource for living species, as they provide an ideal habitat offering shelter and food for numerous endemic species, fish, sea turtles, crustaceans, and birds.
