Section 2 of the BBNJ Act gives effect to the provisions in Article 12(2) to (5) of the BBNJ Agreement regarding the collection of MGR from ABNJ.
	Section 2 subsection (1) applies the obligations in these provisions of the BBNJ Agreement to a project in which a UK craft is used to collect MGR in an ABNJ. "UK craft" is defined in Section 27 subsection (1) of the Act.
	Section 2 subsection (1) introduces the term "collection project" to refer to the projects to which the notification obligations in subsection (2) apply.
	Section 2 subsection (2) sets out the requirement for the "relevant person" in relation to a collection project that intends to collect MGR in ABNJ to ensure that no such collection takes place unless a notification has been submitted to the Secretary of State.
	Section 2 subsection (2)(a) specifies that the notification provided to the Secretary of State must set out the information required by paragraphs (a) to (j) of Article 12(2) of the BBNJ Agreement which are:
The nature and objectives under which the collection is carried out, including, as appropriate, any programme(s) of which it forms part;
The subject matter of the research or, if known, the marine genetic resources to be targeted or collected, and the purposes for which such resources will be collected;
The geographical areas in which the collection is to be undertaken;
A summary of the method and means to be used for collection, including the name, tonnage, type and class of vessels, scientific equipment and/or study methods employed;
Information concerning any other contributions to proposed major programmes;
The expected date of first appearance and final departure of the research vessels, or deployment of the equipment and its removal, as appropriate;
The name(s) of the sponsoring institution(s) and the person in charge of the project;
Opportunities for scientists of all States, in particular scientists from developing States, to be involved in or associated with the project;
The extent to which it is considered that States that may need and request technical assistance, in particular developing States, should be able to participate or to be represented in the project;
A data management plan prepared according to open and responsible data governance, taking into account current international practice.
	Section 2 subsection (2)(b) specifies that this information must be provided to the Secretary of State at least 7 months prior to the collection project taking place. The BBNJ Agreement requires that the pre-collection notification be sent to the Clearing-House Mechanism established under Article 51 of the Agreement 6 months before the collection starts. The 7-month timeline in the Act is intended to ensure that the BBNJ national focal point has sufficient time to check the notification and clarify information provided or request any missing information before the notification is sent to the Clearing-House Mechanism. The BBNJ national focal point will be specified in guidance and is intended to be the FCDO Ocean Policy Unit.
	Section 2 subsection (3) provides that the Secretary of State may reduce the 7-month period for the provision of the pre-collection notification where they consider there is a compelling reason to do so. An example of a compelling reason would be where there is a natural or man-made disaster necessitating the urgent collection of MGR from ABNJ to ascertain the impact of the disaster on marine biodiversity. It is anticipated that the requirement for notice in writing from the Secretary of State will be fulfilled by means of email correspondence from the BBNJ national focal point.
	Section 2 subsection (4) provides that the relevant person must provide a notification to the Secretary of State setting out the information described in paragraphs (a) to (d) of Article 12(5) of the BBNJ Agreement which are:
The repository or database where digital sequence information on marine genetic resources is or will be deposited;
Where all marine genetic resources collected in situ are or will be deposited or held;
A report detailing the geographical area from which marine genetic resources were collected, including information on the latitude, longitude and depth of collection, and, to the extent available, the findings from the activity undertaken;
Any necessary updates to the data management plan provided under paragraph (2)(j) above.
	Section 2 subsection (4) provides that the notification must be provided to the Secretary of State as soon as all the information is available (Section 2 subsection 4(a)) and in any case before the end of 11 months beginning with the last day on which MGR were collected in an ABNJ as part of the relevant project (Section 2 subsection 4(b)).
	Section 2 subsection (5) defines the term "collect" in relation to MGR. The definition refers to "collecting" or "sampling" and therefore follows the definition of "collection in situ" in Article 1 of the BBNJ Agreement:
""Collection in situ", in relation to marine genetic resources, means the collection or sampling of marine genetic resources in areas beyond national jurisdiction."
	The term "sampling" was included in the definition under the BBNJ Agreement to anticipate a situation in which MGR are not removed from ABNJ but are the subject of research on board a craft or equipment to extract data, or where data related to MGR are extracted from the marine environment through the sampling of e-DNA.
	The definition is intended to make clear that the obligation to provide pre- and post-collection notifications under the Act do not apply where the purpose of the activity is not the collection of MGR, but MGR may be collected incidentally while collecting other physical samples such as sediment cores or water samples. For example, a research project to collect MGR from ABNJ in order to study specific traits of the organisms collected would require pre- and post-collection notifications, whereas a research project focused on the chemical composition of deep sea sediment which involves the collection of sediment cores that may contain microbes would not be required to notify as the collection of MGR in this situation would be incidental and not the focus of the research project. It is unlikely that MGR of ABNJ collected unintentionally during the collection of other physical samples such as sediment cores will be subject to utilisation as these samples are generally not stored over the long term.
	Section 2 subsection (5) also defines "the relevant person" in charge of a collection project as the person with principal responsibility for the scientific or technical aspects of the project so far as it concerns marine genetic resources. For the UK’s national research vessels, which are currently the main UK craft used for the collection of MGR from ABNJ, this would be the Chief Scientist in charge of a research cruise. The relevant person would be the principal researcher on any other craft whether commercial or academic. Annex B provides an outline of how the existing research cruise process works in the UK and how this would interact with the MGR provisions.
Part 2 – Marine Genetic Resources Section 2: Collection