Ocean Decade

2025 marks the mid-way point of the #OceanDecade. Launched in January 2021, the Ocean Decade is a framework to deliver the science we need for the ocean we want by 2030. Since then, we have become the world's largest ocean science movement, with: 🌊 700+ endorsed initiatives led by partners in 76 countries 🌊 10,000+ people from 176 countries taking part in Ocean Decade events, activities, and initiatives 🌊 50+ thematic, national, and regional hubs mobilizing stakeholders and driving the implementation of the Ocean Decade at all levels With five years left to achieve our goals, the 2025 United Nations Ocean Conference is a critical milestone towards a healthy and resilient ocean by 2030. Join us: 💙 #OceanScience #UNOC3 #UNOC #SaveOurOcean #SDG14 #ProtectTheOcean @ioc_unesco @oceanliteracy_unescoioc

🔵 Just released: A new #OceanDecade online course by @ioc_unesco explores how to use ocean science and knowledge to implement the BBNJ Agreement. Announced as the #BBNJ PrepComm III is underway, the online course “Using Science, Knowledge and Tools to operationalise the BBNJ Agreement” aims to support the global ocean science and policy community with key resources to start operationalising the BBNJ Agreement. Free, self-paced, and open to everyone, the course features the contributions of over 80 world-leading ocean experts and covers: ✅ The historical background, core concepts and conventions underlying the BBNJ Agreement ✅ The Agreement’s four main pillars: Marine genetic resources; Area-Based Management Tools, including Marine Protected Areas; Environmental Impact Assessments; and Capacity-building and the Transfer of Marine Technology ✅ The Agreement’s main implementation mechanisms This course is co-produced by the #OceanDecade Capacity Development Facility and @ioc_unesco 's OceanTeacher Global Academy. Enrol now — registrations are open and the course will start on 13 April. Click on the link in our bio or go to oceanexpert.org/event/4989 to register. #OceanDecade #OceanScience #BBNJ #BBNJAgreement #HighSeasTreaty #SDG14

📢🇧🇷 Just announced: The 2027 Ocean Decade Conference will take place on 7-9 April 2027 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil! The flagship #OceanDecade event will unite governments, scientists, civil society, Indigenous leaders, youth, the private sector, and philanthropy to accelerate ocean action. From 7-9 April 2027, the Conference will bring together up to 2,000 participants for three days of dialogue, partnership, and action. Preceding the main sessions, a programme of partner-led satellite events, exhibitions, and networking opportunities on 5-6 April will create a dynamic forum for diverse engagement across all sectors taking place throughout the city of Rio. Co-organized by @ioc_unesco , Brazil’s Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation (@mcti ), and the City of Rio de Janeiro (@prefeitura_rio ), the 2027 edition will build on the outcomes of the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference in Barcelona, Spain, and carry forward the ambition of the Ocean Decade. The hosting of the Conference is further testament to Brazil’s leadership in the Ocean Decade since the establishment of its National Decade Committee @decadacienciaoceanica – the first in the world – in 2021. 👉 Read more and watch the #OceanDecade27 official launch ceremony, which took place on Monday 6 October in Rio de Janeiro, at the link in our bio! #OceanScience #OceanAction #SDG14

🔵 Join the #OceanDecade: submit your ocean initiative to our Call for Decade Actions 11/2026! Led by the @ioc_unesco , the Ocean Decade is the world's largest coordinated ocean science movement. To date, 62 endorsed Decade Programmes and 689 endorsed Decade Projects are being implemented around the world, and over 133 Contributions of in-kind and financial resources support this vital work. Building on this momentum, this Call for Decade Actions focuses on: • Addressing priority needs from the Barcelona Statement. Issued at the 2024 Ocean Decade Conference, the Statement identifies ocean science priorities in the framework of the Ocean Decade, including the co-design and co-delivery of science and knowledge on a range of ocean issues; critical ocean science infrastructure needs; and cross-cutting issues to ensure that the Ocean Decade is on track for success by 2030. Find it here at the link in our bio. • Galvanising new contributions and new projects to support and strengthen existing Decade Actions and coordination structures. • Enabling diverse participation at the 2027 Ocean Decade Conference (7-9 April 2027 | Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) through dedicated travel support. 🚨 The call includes different deadlines for different types of initiatives: • Expression of Interest for Decade Programmes: 31 May 2026 • Applications for Decade Projects and Decade Contributions: 31 August 2026 Help us continue to deliver the science we need for the ocean we want. 🔗 Apply now and find all supporting documents at the link in our bio. #OceanDecade #OceanDecade27 #OceanAction #OceanScience #SDG14

What is Sustainable Development Goal 14: Life Below Water? The ocean cover 70% of the planet, is the world's largest ecosystem, and sustains billions of people — yet it is under threat from overfishing, pollution, and climate change. Sustainable Development Goal 14 — or SDG 14 — calls on us to conserve and sustainably use the ocean, seas, and marine resources. From protecting marine areas to ending harmful subsidies and reducing plastic waste, every action counts toward ensuring a healthy ocean for people and planet. 🌍💙 #OceanDecade #OceanAction #OceanScience #SDG14

🇺🇳 We’re excited to announce another year of official endorsement from the @unoceandecade . This ongoing recognition highlights the Mangrove Photography Awards’ role in supporting @ioc_unesco ’s efforts to accelerate ocean science and inspire global action. Thanks to thousands of photographers worldwide, the Awards have become a platform and growing archive of mangrove stories. From restoration successes to daily life in mangrove communities, your images help connect people to these ecosystems and strengthen the movement to protect them. Join our growing network, speak up for our vital mangroves and the people who rely on them. 🗓️ Submit your images by 1 June. Thanks to thousands of photographers worldwide, the Awards have become a platform and a growing archive of mangrove stories. From restoration successes to daily life in mangrove communities, your images help connect people to these ecosystems and strengthen the movement to protect them. Image credit: ‘Dancing tree’ by Irsam Soetarto #MangrovePhotographyAwards #ConservationPhotography #MangrovesMatter #NatureStorytelling #WildlifePhotography

Applications are open for the OceanLove Innovation Awards — the largest and most inclusive global ocean innovation award! Submit your idea to better protect the ocean to win: 🏆 Seed funding up to $10,000 🎓 The opportunity to attend a global bootcamp for selected participants In 2026, the Awards feature three distinct categories, each celebrating innovation in a key area of ocean sustainability: • The Wavemakers Award: Educators, youth, and movements spreading awareness and hope. Submissions should include innovative methods that encourage change beyond lesson plans. • The Living Sea Award: Innovations that protect and restore marine life, biodiversity, and marine ecosystems — including kelp forests, mangroves, plankton, corals, dolphins, turtles, and other marine species. • The Blue Circle Award: Circular economy and cleanup innovations or initiatives restoring the ocean’s balance and pushing back all kinds of pollution. Submissions involving only clean-ups are not considered innovative. Endorsed by the #OceanDecade, the @oceanlovenews Awards encourage all creative minds worldwide to submit their ideas for new products, tools, campaigns, or initiatives that can measurably contribute to conserving the ocean, seas, marine resources, and ecosystems. 🗓️ Applications are open until August 31, and winners will be revealed on 11 October during an Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, USA. 🔗 Apply now at

What does it take to make ocean governance work — not just in theory, but in practice? For Ronán Long, Director of the WMU-Sasakawa Global Ocean Institute at the World Maritime University (@wmuhq ), the answer lies in connection: between science and policy, global commitments and national action, and most importantly, between people. Sustainable Ocean Planning and Management is not only about managing ocean space but also about creating systems that are inclusive, equitable and built to last. That means: • Investing in data and knowledge systems • Strengthening institutions and coordination • Building long-term capacity, especially in Small Island Developing States It also means recognizing that ocean governance is deeply human — shaped by the communities, priorities and realities of those who depend on it most. As global momentum builds around ocean action, the focus is shifting toward implementation: how to ensure that commitments under frameworks like Sustainable Development Goal 14, BBNJ Agreement and the Global Biodiversity Framework translate into measurable progress. At the Island States Ocean Summit, hosted by The Nippon Foundation, in partnership with Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and @ioc_unesco through the Ocean Decade, these conversations will continue, bringing together leaders, practitioners and partners to co-develop solutions that are not only effective, but equitable and grounded in real-world needs. #SustainableOceanPlanning #OceanResilience #SustainableOceanEconomy #OceanDecade #SIDS #ClimateSolutions #OceanGovernance

@Plastic_Clever_Schools ’ program for ending single-use plastics in schools around the world is simple yet effective. Hosted by @commonseas , the program inspires students to take action by teaching them about the harms of plastic pollution in their local water bodies. Then, they equip students to investigate the challenge with tools to audit their school for single-use plastics. And finally, they empower students to act, with creative solutions for how to reduce these pollutants in their communities. Students from the Xanthi Music School in Greece took part in Plastic Clever Schools International Day of Action last year. Their message to “act now” is reinforced with their understanding of the threats and solutions to plastic pollution. Register your school and join the movement to end single-use plastics in schools around the world! 👉 plasticcleverschools.org #GenOcean #OceanDecade #PlasticPollution #PlasticCleverSchools #EndSingleUsePlastics

An international team of scientists has recently launched 'Coral Cartography', an endorsed Ocean Decade project that aims to build the first comprehensive picture of cold-water coral habitats in the Atlantic. Cold-water corals are a critical component of deep-sea ecosystems, facing growing threats from fishing, deep-sea mining, and climate change. While the North Atlantic benefits from relatively rich data on coral distribution, the Central and South Atlantic remain significantly under-researched. Led by the @plymouthmarinelab as part of the Decade Programme @challenger__150 , the project unites experts from Norway, UK, Portugal, Germany, Mauritania, Namibia, South Africa, Uruguay, and Brazil to address that gap. It will: 🔵 Unlock large repositories of previously unanalysed imagery data 🔵 Develop a standardised dataset of coral distribution and density in the Atlantic for areas already explored 🔵 Use this dataset to train machine-learning models to predict the distribution of corals in other areas, effectively enabling the team to fill the gaps 🔵 Train a new generation of cold-water coral researchers and forge lasting collaborative relationships among Atlantic nation scientists This coral cartography will be critical to help identify areas at risk and candidate sites for protection within national Exclusive Economic Zones and on the High Seas. #OceanDecade #OceanScience #OceanAction #SDG14

Did you know that protected seabeds can support 3x more invertebrate animals and twice as many invertebrate species compared to areas open to bottom trawling? 🦀🌊 ⁠ ⁠ That’s what Convex Seascape Survey scientists found while studying a rare, fully protected seabed off the Isle of Arran, Scotland. ⁠ ⁠ Often dismissed as barren, these seabeds are teeming with life. Creatures like crabs, starfish and worms build the foundations of healthy marine ecosystems. 🪱🪸 ⁠ ⁠ The research also shows that the carbon stored in these habitats can take decades to build up, so it’s especially fragile to destructive fishing practices. ⚠️ ⁠ ⁠ The UN Ocean Decade exists to support science that creates a better ocean for everyone. Read the full research at the Convex Seascape Survey website. ⁠ ⁠ Footage credit: Howard Wood OBE @arran.coast , Matt Jarvis @mattjarvismedia ⁠ ⁠ #MarineScience #BlueCarbon #NatureRecovery #MarineLife #ProtectOurOceans

How is the Ocean Decade implemented in Oceania and the Pacific Islands? The ocean is central to the culture, well-being, and livelihoods of people across the region. But coastal communities and marine ecosystems are under increasing pressure from escalating marine pollution, climate change, and overfishing. To help address these issues, ocean scientists and experts across Oceania and the Pacific Islands translate global Ocean Decade goals into regional solutions: 🔵 58 Decade Actions are implemented by institutions based in the region, from Australia and New Zealand to Fiji, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa. 🔵 Hosted by @spc_cps , the Pacific Islands Decade Collaborative Centre acts as the Ocean Decade hub for 22 Pacific Islands Countries & Territories, supporting the generation of ocean evidence for policy and action, promoting knowledge sharing and ocean science, and advancing capacity development and leadership across the Pacific Ocean science community. 🔵 Kāhui Manaaki Tangaroa, New Zealand’s National Decade Committee, hosted by @unesco.nz , brings together the country's diverse knowledge systems, disciplines, and sectors through an ocean kinship approach. Focused on empowering mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge system) and te ao Māori alongside contemporary science (Māori worldview approaches), it draws on Indigenous knowledge from Aotearoa New Zealand and the Pacific to fosters more inclusive, effective ocean solutions. 🔵 Established in 2025 by @oceandecadeaustralia , Australia's National Decade Committee brings together the nation’s ocean and marine users to energise Australia’s role in the Ocean Decade. With a special focus on building a thriving blue economy, empowering ocean knowledge and participation for all, and renewing Australia’s connection with the sea, the Committee drives momentum behind the country's Ocean Decade actions and initiatives. Swipe to read more about the impact and achievements of each of these structures. #OceanDecade #OceanScience #OceanAction #SDG14