Fiji and Panama Launch Global Initiative to Protect Ocean Twilight Zone for Climate and Carbon Storage

Fiji and Panama have launched the Mesopelagic Zone Conservation Challenge at the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya. The initiative aims to protect the ocean's twilight zone, a layer 200 to 1,000 meters below the surface that stores an estimated 2 to 6 gigatons of carbon annually. That is roughly double the emissions from all cars worldwide. The zone also supports key fisheries like tuna and swordfish, which rely on it for up to 81% of their diet. The challenge asks governments to apply a precautionary approach to fishing and deep sea mining in the mesopelagic zone, improve scientific understanding, and create management frameworks. Portugal and Vanuatu have already expressed support. The initiative is led by Ocean Conservancy, Marine Conservation Institute, and Environmental Defense Fund. Without protection, the zone faces threats from climate change, deoxygenation, and growing commercial interest in lanternfish for aquaculture and supplements. For carbon markets and climate policy, this matters because the twilight zone is a massive natural carbon sink. Protecting it helps maintain the ocean's biological carbon pump. The initiative sets a precedent for ocean-based climate action and could influence how countries account for blue carbon in their emissions targets.