oceans aware: inform, inspire, involve
the more you know about the ocean the more you can do to protect and restore it
3.5% of the ocean is fully or highly protected
4.4% in areas with some protection
as at 27.10.26
MPA Guide
C3S/ECMWF
Fayegh(Shamal) Shakibayi/Unsplash
Average Ocean Surface Temperature
27.10.2026: 21.4°C
(1.31°C higher than on 27.10.2007: 20.09°C)
Climate Reanalyzer
Ocean Image Bank/Francois Baelen
Currently under negotiation:
Plastic Pollution Treaty (UNEP)
Seabed Mining Code (ISA)
Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies - part 2 (WTO)
ocean news - what’s the latest?
Ocean advocates rally at UN climate summit to ward off deep-sea mining
Financial Times, 09.11.26
Samuel Regan-Asante/Unsplash
Jean Pierre Cabáni/Unsplash
State of the Climate Update for COP31
World Meteorological Organization, 09.11.26
Jeremy Mowery/Unsplash
Put the Ocean at the Center of COP31
Project Syndicate, 05.11.26
ocean meetings - ongoing and upcoming
19 October - 20 November 2026: Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf Sixty-eighth session, New York, USA
9-20 November 2026: COP31 Climate Conference , Antalya, Türkiye
11-12 November 2026: 25th Global Meeting of the Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans (Regional Seas), London, United Kingdom
13-18 November 2026: 8th International Marine Conservation Congress, Edinburgh, Scotland
16-20 November 2026: First International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals (GFC), Geneva, Switzerland
17-20 November 2026: World Conference on Marine Biodiversity, Bruges, Belgium
30 November - 3 December 2026: 85th session of the IMO Marine Environment Protection Committee, London, UK
2 – 4 December 2026: 2026 UN Water Conference, United Arab Emirates
6-10 December 2027: UN Environment Programme Assembly (UNEA8), Nairobi, Kenya
11-22 January 2027: First BBNJ Conference of the Parties, New York, USA
13-24 March 2027: INC 5.4, part 4 of the Fifth Session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee to develop an internationally binding instrument on plastic pollution
15 – 19 March 2027: 68th meeting of the Standing Committee to the Convention on Wetlands, Gland, Switzerland
21 – 25 March 2027: 11th World Water Forum, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
22-26 March 2027: 6th International Congress on Marine Protected Areas (IMPAC 6), Dakar, Senegal
19 – 30 April 2027: Basel Convention COP18, Rotterdam Convention COP13, and Stockholm Convention COP13, Panama City, Panama
1-3 June 2027: 4th International Conference on Maritime/Marine Spatial Planning, Paris, France
7 – 17 June 2027: Bonn Climate Change Conference, Bonn, Germany
6 – 10 September 2027: Minamata Convention (COP7), Geneva, Switzerland
7 – 21 September 2027: UNGA 82, New York, USA
8 – 19 November 2027: UNFCCC COP32, Antalya, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
22 – 26 November 2027: 69th meeting of the Standing Committee to the Convention on Wetlands, Gland, Switzerland
6 – 10 December 2027: UN Environment Assembly 8, Nairobi, Kenya
Ocean awareness days
World Ocean Day is celebrated on 8 June
Coming up:
1-7 November : Polar Bear Week
3 November: World Jellyfish Day
16 November: Deep Sea Day
21 November: World Fisheries Day
Thomas Oxford/Unsplash
ocean reports & latest publications
FIDRA: The Great Global Nurdle Hunt 2026 Report - October 2026
IUCN: Red List of Ecosystems - October 2026
Kelp Forest Alliance: State of the World's Kelp Forests Report 2026 - October 2026
Global Mangrove Alliance: State of the World’s Mangroves 2026 - October 2026
EU Copernicus: The 10th edition of the EU Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR) - October 2026
Together for the Ocean: Ocean Protection Gap Report 2026 - September 2026
Global Fishing Watch: Vessel Tracking Best Practices Guide - September 2026
SkyTruth: Global Estimate of Marine Oil Pollution - September 2026
ICES: Working Group on Bycatch of Protected Species (WGBYC) 2025 Report - September 2026
Global Coral Reef Monitoring Network: Status of Coral Reefs of the World 2025 - September 2026
Handbook on Developing National Plastics Data Systems - August 2026
WWF: Enough space at sea for offshore wind, fisheries and marine protection - July 2026
KOINON: The economics of deep-sea mining Case Not Proven - July 2026
UNEP: Transitioning to a Sustainable Blue Economy: A Practical Framework - June 2026
IMO: International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS code) - May 2026
UN: Challenges related to sea level rise and ways and approaches to address it - May 2026
Oceana: Flags of Convenience and Hidden Ownership - April 2026
State of the World’s Sea Turtles (SWOT) Report - March 2026
IOC: The Integrated Ocean Carbon Research (IOC‑R) Report - February 2026
NGO Shipbreaking Platform: The Toxic Tide 2025 Shipbreaking Records - February 2026
IISD: State of Global Environmental Governance 2025 - February 2026
Ocean Visions: Phytoplankton Carbon Solutions - February 2026
World Economic Forum: The Ocean Economy Imperative: Defining Value, Managing Risk and Mobilizing Investment - January 2026
United Nations: The Third World Ocean Assessment - 2026
World Ocean Review: Marine Biodiversity - 2026
PEW: Breaking the Plastic Wave 2025 - December 2025
GOOS: Global Ocean Observing System Status Report 2025 - November 2025
ROCA: 2024-2025 Roadmap to Oceans and Climate Action (ROCA) Report - November 2025
UN DESA: Ocean Action Newsletter - November 2025
UNCTAD: Maritime Transport Review 2025 - September 2025
CORAL: Strategic Plan 2025-2030 - June 2025
Antarctic Avengers: All Eyes on Antarctica - June 2025
UNIDiR: Achieving Depth: Subsea Telecommunications Cables as Critical Infrastructure - April 2025
OECD: The Ocean Economy to 2050 - March 2025
WMO: The State of the Global Climate 2024 - March 2025
United Nations Secretary-General Report on Oceans and the Law of the Sea 2025 - March 2025
UNCTAD: The ocean economy is booming. But for how long? - February 2025
WRI: How Marine Carbon Removal Is Governed in the High Seas - February 2025
ISA: Status of Exploration Activities in the Area - December 2024
Planet Tracker: Race to the bottom - November 2024
UNIDIR: Securing the Seas: A Comprehensive Assessment of Global Maritime Security - November 2024
Protected Planet Report 2024 - October 2024
ICRI Forum: Key asks for coral reefs - October 2024
Let’s Be Nice to the Ocean: Advancing the Protection Principle - October 2024
WWF: 2024 Living Planet Report: A System in Peril - October 2024
ASOC: Protecting a Changing Southern Ocean - October 2024
2024 Ocean Decade Conference - The Barcelona Statement - October 2024
Oceano Azul / Europe Jaques Delors: Manifesto for a European Ocean Pact - September 2024
Global Mangrove Alliance: State of the World’s Mangroves 2024 - July 2024
Peace for the Ocean Declaration - June 2024
IOC State of the Ocean Report 2024 - June 2024
Global Ghost Gear Initiative 2023 - June 2024
Statista/German Ocean Foundation State of the oceans 2024 - June 2024
The human right to a clean, healthy and sustainable ocean, Nathan J. Bennett / Elisa Morgera / David Boyd - April 2024
The Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Index Report - December 2023