“The law locks up the man or woman who steals the goose off the common, but leaves the greater villain loose who steals the common from the goose.” English poem, 17th Century.

As said, the idea of privately-owned land, or sea beds is a relatively new one to all human civilizations. The original normal was for a communal ownership of especially those areas that provided a use that benefitted the community in common, hence the term: “The Commons”.

Today, this refers to all areas (including the ocean depths and outer space) of potential and actual value to humanity as a whole.
This is an important concept, because the beginning of the modern era actually began with the emergent powerful economic groups using their growing political influence to seize and privatize the Commons. A very good example was in Britain, from where the grabbers then went global, in the name of economic development.
(*Note the capital “C”)