technology

Digital sequence information

Genetic sequence data treated as a unit of value decoupled from the physical sample it was read from — the actively-contested subject of benefit-sharing obligations under the BBNJ Agreement's marine genetic resources regime.

Where it's used

Marine genomic prospecting & the BBNJ treaty
The UN High Seas Treaty (BBNJ Agreement) entered into force in January 2026, creating the first legal regime for accessing and sharing benefits from marine genetic resources collected outside any nation's waters — turning deep-sea genomic prospecting from an unregulated commons into a treaty-governed pipeline running from Ocean Genome Legacy's biobank to PharmaMar's marine-derived oncology drugs.
marine-biotech 8 min