Most of the ocean lies beyond the exclusive economic zones of coastal States and is known as the High Seas or the Area Beyond National Jurisdiction (ABNJ). Several United Nations (UN) agencies, international organizations, and conventions form a governance framework for regulating the main industrial sectors of shipping, fishing, and seabed mining. Despite a multitude of regulatory instruments designed to reduce environmental impacts, this has failed to prevent unsustainable exploitation and declining ocean health. In 2023 a new treaty was agreed by the UN, the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction or “BBNJ”. The BBNJ offers a holistic approach to regulating human activities in the High Seas that prioritizes conservation and sustainability. Drawing on a case study from the Northeast Atlantic, the past sectoral approach is evaluated in terms of sustainability with a view to what the emerging BBNJ treaty will mean.