Abstract
The fifteenth session of the International Seabed Authority (ISBA), which was established under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, was held in Kingston, Jamaica, from 25 May to 5 June. In his annual report on the activities of the ISBA, the secretary-general, Nii Allotey Odunton, remarked that the current global recession had an unexpectedly severe impact on metal markets and hence on the prospects for deep seabed mining. A precipitous fall in demand for metals had led to a sharp fall in prices. However, the pessimistic outlook for the mining sector is not shared by the deepwater oil and gas industry that is continuing its growth trend. Moreover, recent scientific work, particularly in relation to submarine hydrothermal systems, had extended current knowledge about the hydrothermal mineral potential of the world's oceans.