UN ocean treaty summit collapses as states accused of dragging out talks

Conservationists despair at glacial pace' of negotiations to protect wildlife and oversee fishing amid high seas' governance vacuum'

UN member states have failed to agree on a treaty to protect the high seas from exploitation, with scientists, environmentalists and conservation organisations blaming states that were dragging their feet" for the glacial pace" of talks.

The longer the negotiations took, the more wildlife would be lost from the ocean, they warned, urging ministers and heads of state to work together with the president of the UN high seas conference to speed up a further round of negotiations to close a governance vacuum" on the high seas.