The Hamilton declaration builds upon the decade plus of work of the Sargasso Sea Commission under the Hamilton Declaration on Collaboration for the Conservation of the Sargasso Sea (the first Hamilton Declaration or ‘Hamilton I’) signed in 2014 in Bermuda. The innovative non-legally binding structure created by the first Hamilton Declaration brings together signatory governments, including the Azores, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, the Bahamas, Canada, the Cayman Islands, Dominican Republic, Monaco, UK and US, and expert Sargasso Sea Commissioners to collaborate to conserve the Sargasso Sea.
The aim of the new declaration is to provide a mechanism to signal political support for the development of a collective proposal for an area-based management tool for the conservation of the Sargasso Sea under the BBNJ agreement. The draft instrument also provides an opportunity for non-governmental partners to sign. The draft declaration was circulated to signatories of the BBNJ Agreement in February 2026.
Bermuda Event - Group Photo and Working Photo
Government of Bermuda
On Friday, March 20th, the Governments of Bermuda and the UK hosted the first civil society engagement and formal consultation on the draft text for a Hamilton II Declaration at the Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences.
Twenty-four organisations were represented at the meeting. Speakers included the Governor of Bermuda, Andrew Murdoch, CMG; the Hon. Jaché Adams, Minister of Public Works and Environment for the Government of Bermuda; Dr Tammy Warren, Senior Marine Resources Officer for the Government of Bermuda; Amanda Goble, from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Government of the UK, and Dr David Freestone and Fae Sapsford of the Sargasso Sea Commission.
"Protecting the Sargasso Sea has long been a priority for Bermuda,"
said Jaché Adams, the Minister of Public Works and Environment.
"The Hamilton II Declaration is the next step in bringing countries together to take real action. With the support of our community and international partners, we now have an opportunity to turn that goal into lasting protection.”
The consultation process on the draft text is just beginning. "It is important that members of civil society in Bermuda - including our scientists, charities and fishermen - have a voice in that process," said Andrew Murdoch, Governor of Bermuda.
"We have just completed a comprehensive scientific analysis that we can now use to highlight key threats and identify appropriate conservation proposals,"
said Dr David Freestone, Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission.
UK Mission Event Audience and Event Panel
UK Mission
The event in Bermuda was followed by a breakfast side event in the margins of the third BBNJ PrepCom in New York on March 25th. Hosted by the UK Mission to the UN, the aim of the side event was to garner political support for the Declaration. Interested parties will be invited to attend a final drafting session for the Declaration later this year.
Speakers included Archie Young CMG, UK Deputy Permanent Representative (DPR); Walter Roban, Special Advisor on Climate and Ocean Policy to the Bermuda Government; Daphné Le Son, governmental focal point of Monaco to the Hamilton Declaration and DPR of the Monaco Mission to the UN, and Dr David Freestone, Executive Secretary of the Sargasso Sea Commission. The event was co-sponsored by Monaco and Canada, and supportive remarks were made by Domingo Melenciano of the Government of the Dominican Republic; Ambassador Ron Pinder of the Government of the Bahamas; Andrew McMaser, Director of International Oceans Policy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and others.
The Sargasso Sea Commission is proud to support this initiative with the socio-ecosystem diagnostic analysis and strategic action programme it is developing under grants from the French Facility for Global Environment and the Global Environment Facility.
For more information, please contact Fae Sapsford, fsapsford@sargassoseacommission.org.
About the Sargasso Sea Project
The Global Environment Facility-funded Common Oceans Program Sargasso Sea project (GEF-UNDP-IOC-SSC) is committed to facilitating a collaborative, cross-sectoral, and sustainable stewardship mechanism to establish a comprehensive conservation framework to protect the unique ecosystem of the Sargasso Sea. Led by UNDP, implemented by IOC UNESCO, and supported by an extensive network of partners, it brings together the regional fisheries management organisations, other UN-mandated bodies, national agencies, intergovernmental organisations and initiatives, the private sector, civil society and academia.
In addition to the GEF-UNDP-IOC-SSC project, the Sargasso Sea Commission is supported by a sister project. Funded by the French Facility for Global Environment, and in partnership with the University of Western Brittany, Mar Viva, and the Sargasso Sea Commission, the ‘SARGADOM’ project focuses on two remarkable high seas sites – the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic (‘SARGA’) and the Thermal Dome in the Eastern Tropical Pacific (‘DOM’). The project aims to contribute to the protection of biodiversity and ecosystem services and to facilitate the development of hybrid ocean governance approaches for the two sites.