Does ‘Ecocide’ Provide a Viable Option to Address the Gravest Crimes against the Marine Environment?

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Abstract Recent main global scientific assessments underscore the alarming deteriorating state of the marine environment. Following an overview of pressures and threats, which are widespread and severe or serious, and relevant policy outcomes, this article evaluates the effectiveness of the international legal regime in addressing these pressures and threats, highlighting implementation, compliance, and enforcement challenges. Some recent developments to address crimes against the environment will be highlighted, in particular initiatives to develop and define a crime of ecocide at international and national levels. Based on the existing definitions of ecocide, the article analyses whether ecocide could be applied in a marine context, with particular attention given to thresholds and the nature of the act. It then considers the potential application in a marine context of some of the components of the definitions of ecocide, with bottom trawling selected for a deeper analysis.