The Global Ocean Commission believes that lawless high seas are being degraded by overfishing, drilling and pollution.
The group has released a report asking for sweeping reforms to try reversing the decline of the ocean's health.
"The high seas are like a failed state," said commission co-chair David Miliband, former foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, according to a press release issued by the commission. "Poor governance and the absence of policing and management mean valuable resources are unprotected or being squandered," Miliband said. "The high seas belong to us all. We know what needs to be done but we can't do it alone. A joint mission must be our priority."
Click here to read the report.
The five-year "rescue package" offers a number of broad policy recommendations. For one, it calls on the United Nations and national governments to outlaw fishing in international waters and they want international cooperation on marine problems, according to the report.
It also calls for a more concerted effort by world leaders and government to stop ocean pollution.
The commission is asking that the world's wealthier nations to stop subsidizing commercial fishing on the high seas.
Japan, China, the United States and a number of European countries spend approximately $27 billion to subsidize the vessels that plunder the seas' fishing stocks, mainly through fuel subsides, according to the report.
"We should end subsidies for high seas fishing," said Miliband. "When it comes to subsidies for industrial-scale resource extraction, like industrial fishing on the high seas, we are doing a huge disservice to future generations."
The group delivered its report this week with the intention that it would spur action around the world.
The U.S. will meet in New York this September to discuss climate change and other environmental concerns.
The Global Ocean Commission is an independent group funded by the Adessium Foundation, Oceans 5, and Pew Charitable Trusts.
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