Abbreviations
| ABNJ | Area Beyond National Jurisdiction |
| ABS | Access and Benefit Sharing |
| APEIS | Area of Particular Environmental Interest |
| ATS | Antarctic Treaty System |
| AUV | Autonomous Underwater Vehicle |
| BAT | Best Available Techniques |
| BCC | Benguela Current Convention |
| BIT | Bilateral Investment Treaty |
| BREF | BAT Reference Document |
| CBD | Convention of Biological Diversity |
| CCAMLR | Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Marine Living Resources |
| CCS | carbon capture and storage |
| CO2 | carbon dioxide |
| CDM | Clean Development Mechanism |
| CJEU | Court of Justice of the European Union |
| CLCS | Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf |
| COMRA | China Ocean Mineral Resource R&D Association |
| CTD | Conductivity-Temperature-Depth |
| DOSI | Deep-Ocean Stewardship Initiative |
| DSM | deep seabed mining |
| DSTD | deep-sea tailing disposal |
| ECT | Energy Charter Treaty |
| EEA | European Economic Area |
| EHR | Enhanced Hydrocarbon Recovery |
| EOR | Enhanced oil recovery |
| EIA | Environmental Impact Assessment |
| EU | European Union |
| ESA | EFTA Surveillance Authority |
| EEZ | exclusive economic zone |
| FAO | United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization |
| FSA | United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement |
| GAIRS | generally accepted international rules and standards |
| GFCM | General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean |
| GHG | greenhouse gases |
| ICJ | International Court of Justice |
| ICPC | International Cable Protection Committee |
| ICZM | integrated coastal zone management |
| IEA | International Energy Agency |
| INDEEP | International Network for Scientific Investigations of the Deep Sea |
| IUU fishing | Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing |
| ILC | International Law Commission |
| IMO | International Maritime Organization |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change |
| IPRs | Intellectual Property Rights |
| ISA or ISBA | International Seabed Authority |
| ITLOS | International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea |
| IUCN | International Union for Conservation of Nature |
| JDA | Joint Development Agreement |
| JDZ | joint development zone |
| km | kilometres |
| LDC Protocol | Protocol to the London Dumping Convention |
| LOSC | Law of the Sea Convention |
| LTC | Legal and Technical Commission (of the International Seabed Authority) |
| MPA | Marine Protected Area |
| MGR | Marine genetic resource |
| MOU | Memorandum of Understanding |
| MSP | Marine Spatial Planning |
| NAFTA | North American Free Trade Agreement |
| NAFO | Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organisation |
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organization |
| NEAFC | North-East Atlantic Fisheries Commission |
| NGO | Non-Governmental Organisation |
| nm | nautical miles |
| NPD | Norwegian Petroleum Directorate |
| OAU | Organisation for African Unity |
| OSD | Offshore Safety Directive (EU) |
| OSPAR | Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic |
| PLDC | Protocol to the London Dumping Convention |
| PSSA | Particularly Sensitive Sea Area |
| PSV | Production Support Vessel |
| REEs | Rare Earth Elements |
| RFMO | regional fisheries management organization |
| RSO | Regional Seas Organisation |
| ROV | Remote Operated Vehicle |
| SEAFO | Southeast Atlantic Fisheries Organisation |
| SIODFA | Southern Indian Ocean Deepsea Fishers Association |
| SIOFA | Southern Indian Ocean Fisheries Agreement |
| SMS | Seafloor massive sulphides |
| SPRFMO | South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation |
| STD | submarine tailing disposal |
| TPP | Trans-Pacific Partnership |
| TSO | Transmission System Operator |
| UK | United Kingdom |
| UN Charter | Charter of the United Nations |
| UNCLOS | United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea |
| UNEP | United Nations Environmental Programme |
| UNFCCC | United Framework Convention on Climate Change |
| UNGA | United Nations General Assembly |
| USA | United States of America |
| USGS | U.S. Geological Survey |
| VME | Vulnerable marine ecosystem |
| WMD | Weapons of Mass Destruction |