technology

Marine genome biobanking

Long-term, citable repositories of marine tissue samples and sequence records, such as Ocean Genome Legacy Center, increasingly linked to coordinated global genomic infrastructure like the Earth BioGenome Project.

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