35th Consultative Meeting of Contracting Parties to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 (London Convention) 8th meeting of Contracting Parties to the 1996 Protocol thereto (London Protocol).

Marine geoengineering, including ocean fertilization, will be regulated under amendments to the 1996 Protocol to the international treaty which regulates the dumping of wastes and other matter at sea.
 
The amendments, adopted on Friday (18 October)  by Parties to the 1996 Protocol to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972, add a new article 6 which states that “Contracting Parties shall not allow the placement of matter into the sea from vessels, aircraft, platforms or other man-made structures at sea for marine geoengineering activities listed in Annex 4, unless the listing provides that the activity or the sub-category of an activity may be authorized under a permit”.
 
Marine geoengineering is defined as “a deliberate intervention in the marine environment to manipulate natural processes, including to counteract anthropogenic climate change and/or its impacts, and that has the potential to result in deleterious effects, especially where those effects may be widespread, long-lasting or severe”.
 
A new Annex 4 on “Marine geoengineering” lists “Ocean fertilization”, defined as “any activity undertaken by humans with the principal intention of stimulating primary productivity in the oceans.  Ocean fertilization does not include conventional aquaculture, or mariculture, or the creation of artificial reefs.”

For the complete article, please see International Maritime Organization.