Antigua and Barbuda is quietly putting the legal groundwork in place for the possibility of deep-sea mining, even as the country maintains that commercial extraction should not move forward without stronger scientific evidence and environmental safeguards.

The government has spent the past two years developing legislation that could regulate seabed mining, issue exploration licences and potentially allow Antigua and Barbuda to sponsor companies operating in international waters.

The preparations come despite Prime Minister Gaston Browne telling the United Nations General Assembly in September 2025 that Antigua and Barbuda supported a moratorium on deep-sea mining.

Officials from the Department of the Blue Economy say the two positions are not necessarily contradictory. Instead, they argue that the country needs rules in place before the industry develops further.

“We want to get the legal framework finalized before we even touch on deep sea mining,” Director Ann-Louise Hill said. “So, we are still kind of in a precautionary mode, you can say.”

Two pieces of legislation have emerged from that work, the Blue Economy Bill of 2024 and the Antigua and Barbuda Seabed Minerals Act of 2025. The department began working with the Commonwealth Secretariat on seabed-mining legislation in 2024.

Acting Senior Policies and Operations Manager Marver Woodley said Antigua and Barbuda is not permanently ruling out the industry but needs legislation, scientific research and safeguards before considering it.

Polymetallic nodules containing minerals such as cobalt and nickel are believed to exist within Antigua and Barbuda’s maritime area. However, no scientific exploration has been conducted to establish their quantity, composition or economic value.

Scientists are urging caution.

Marine ecologist Ruleo Camacho said the country does not yet have enough information about its deep-ocean ecosystems or the capacity required to properly monitor mining activity.

“In my personal opinion, we are very unprepared,” Camacho said. “We lack the technology and capacity to monitor such activities.”

Dr. Diva Amon has also warned about the potential environmental consequences, noting that about 86 per cent of the Caribbean is deep ocean and much of it remains unexplored. She described deep-sea mining as an “incredibly destructive activity.”

Questions are also being raised about whether the industry would deliver the economic benefits sometimes promised.

Ocean policy consultant Bobbi-Jo Dobush pointed to the technical and financial uncertainties involved in extracting minerals thousands of metres below the surface.

“The only way these economic models make sense is if everything goes perfectly,” she said.

Papua New Guinea has been cited as a warning. Its government invested about US$120 million in the Solwara 1 deep-sea mining project involving Nautilus Minerals before the venture ultimately failed.

For Antigua and Barbuda, the stakes extend beyond what may lie beneath the seabed.

The country’s economy is heavily tied to the ocean through tourism, fisheries, yachting and other industries, raising concerns that environmental damage from mining, including activity beyond national waters,  could have wider consequences.

Environmental Awareness Group Marine Conservation Programme Coordinator Joshel Wilson warned that small island states could still feel the effects of mining elsewhere.

“Small islands are going to feel the ripple effect,” Wilson said, pointing to tourism, yachting, fisheries and food security.

He also called for communities, scientists, government agencies and businesses to have a voice in decisions surrounding any future industry.

“The people who are going to be affected must have a say.”

For now, there are no plans to begin deep-sea mining in Caribbean waters. But Antigua and Barbuda’s decision to develop legislation signals that the government wants to be prepared if that changes, leaving the country to balance potential economic opportunities against the protection of an ocean on which much of its economy and way of life depend.