Professor of International Law at Sophia University. Former President of the Japanese Society of International Law. Member of the Governing Board of IMO International Maritime Law Institute. Advocate for the Government of Japan in “Southern Bluefin Tuna” Cases. Counsel for the Government of Japan in “Whaling in the Antarctic” Case. Member of the Committee on Submarine Cables and Pipelines under the International Law Association. Policy Adviser for the Japan Coast Guard. Member of the Executive Council for Japan Branch of the International Law Association. Councilor of the Headquarters for Ocean Policy of Japan, Appointed by Prime Minister, Government of Japan (2016-2022) Member of the Board for the Bar Exam of Japan (2006 - 2015) Councilor for the Sasakawa Pease Foundation She delivered a course of lectures at The Hague Academy of International Law in 2017, entitled as “Reassessment of the Acts of the State in the Law of State Responsibility―A Proposal of an Integrative Theoretical Flamework of the Law of State Responsibility to Effectively Cope with the Internationally Harmful Acts of Non-State Actors,” which was published in Recueils des cours, Vol. 399 (2019).

Dr Kirsty McQuaid is a South African Postdoctoral Research Fellow. Her expertise is in deep-sea ecology and habitat mapping, with a focus on abyssal plain environments. Kirsty’s current work centers on developing capacity for deep-sea research in Africa.

Luciana Génio is the environmental coordinator at the Secretariat of the International Seabed Authority (ISA). She joined ISA in 2019 and her current role stands at the science-policy interface, supporting the work on marine environmental protection in the Area, including the dissemination of environmental data through ISA’s DeepData database. Her responsibilities also include establishing and strengthening partnerships with the scientific community and relevant international organizations in support of ISA’s activities on marine scientific research in the Area. She has over 10 years of experience in deep-sea benthic ecology and evolution, having joined nearly 20 deep ocean expeditions in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Before joining ISA, she was a researcher at the University of Aveiro in Portugal and a visiting scientist at other international research institutions. Luciana holds a PhD in Earth and Environmental Sciences from the University of Leeds (UK).

Dr Malcolm Clark is a Principal Scientist with NIWA in Wellington, New Zealand. He worked extensively on stock assessment of deepwater fisheries in the 1980s and 1990s before broadening research to more general ecology of deep-sea ecosystems, especially seamounts, from the Pacific Islands to the Antarctic. His recent work focusses on evaluating environmental effects of human activities (such as commercial fishing and potential seabed mining), and development of ecological risk and impact assessments. He is currently a member of the ISA’s Legal and Technical Commission.

A member of Legal Technical Commission (LTC) (2023 ～ present)　　　 Japan Organization for Metals and Security (JOGMEC) (2021 ～ present) Deep Ocean Resources Development Co.ltd., Head of department (2020 ～2021) Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), Group Leader (2014～2020) University of Tokyo, Associate Professor (2008～2014)

Professor Ann Vanreusel is head of the Marine Biology research group at Ghent University.She studied biology at Hasselt University from 1980-1982. She then went to UGent to complete her licentiate studies in 1984. At the marine biology research group, she was able to start a PhD on the ecology of meiofauna that was successfully defended in 1989. As a post-doc researcher at UGent, she focused on benthic deep-sea research mainly in the context of various European projects. From 2000, she was appointed lecturer, and now she is full professor still at UGent, where she teaches in the biology programme and the interuniversity programme in marine and lacustrine sciences and management. She has more than 250 scientific publications in this field.

Professor Daniel Jones is a deep-sea biologist working at the National Oceanography Centre in Southampton UK, where he is Head of the Ocean BioGeosciences Group. He specialises in understanding temporal and spatial patterns in deep-water ecosystems, including those impacted by anthropogenic disturbances such as mining. His background is in community ecology, particularly in image-based assessment of the larger animals inhabiting the seafloor, known as megafauna. He applies his experience in working in the deep sea to improving environmental assessment and management. This includes regular work with the deep-sea mining and other offshore industries as well as providing regular advice to government and engagement in policy development. He has been on over thirty research expeditions, including voyages to two key areas of mining interest, the Clarion Clipperton Zone in the Abyssal Pacific and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. He has published over 150 scientific papers, primarily on describing patterns and processes in deep-sea ecosystems. These include important assessments, syntheses and reviews of baseline conditions in areas of mining interest, the processes controlling natural variability and the impacts of disturbance. He has been part of several major international research initiatives focused on environmental aspects of deep-sea mining and is leading a £5M UK research programme, SMARTEX, investigating the responses of abyssal ecosystems to deep-sea mining disturbance.

Lea Kolas Weis is a Legal officer with the ISA. Working on the development of the draft exploitation regulations. She is an Attorney from Copenhagen, Denmark and has extensive experience with oil and gas disputes.

Dr. Katsunori Fujijura is the Director of the Marine Biodiversity and Environmental Assessment Research Center, at the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). He holds a Bachelors degree from Tokyo University of Fisheries. He has held positions as an Adjunct lecturer at the Nihon University and a visiting lecturer at Hiroshima University, as well as a visiting associate professor at the Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology, His research interests are deep-sea biology, marine biodiversity and marine plastics.