Time running out to protect world’s oceans, conservationists say as UN treaty talks stall

UN ocean treaty negotiations have failed to reach an agreement in New York. Fish swim near a head of coral in Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Photograph: Caleb Jones/AP

A fifth round of negotiations for a UN ocean treaty to protect and manage the high seas failed to reach an agreement on Friday in New York.

The treaty has been described as “the most significant ocean protection agreement for four decades”.