The potential for deep-sea mining to affect fisheries also requires consideration of how the miners will be regulated. To ensure reasonable regard for fisheries operating in the same region, the ISA will need powers not only to monitor, but also to enforce compliance by miners with its Mining Code . The practicalities of this part of the regime have received little attention to date at the ISA. There are various legal and political complexities at play.
However, analysis suggests that some States currently sponsoring ISA exploration contracts do not have relevant measures in place in their national legal regimes, nor clear procedures in their court systems to deal with disputes that may arise in relation to their contractors' actions. An entity holding a deep-sea mining contract with the ISA may itself be a State, which may be unlikely to wish to impose such sanctions upon itself or its officers.