Photo Credit: Single Fin Photo / Ocean Image Bank
| June 20, 2025
Last week, ocean advocates from around the globe came together at the third UN Ocean Conference (UNOC3) in Nice, France, to accelerate action towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 14 and mobilize all actors to conserve and sustainably use the ocean. So what was accomplished for ocean conservation? Here’s our recap of some of the major announcements and commitments from the week and their significance for the ocean conservation movement.
Announcements and Actions at the Third United Nations Ocean Conference
MPA Announcements
International ocean conferences, like UNOC, often serve as a platform for governments to announce their intentions to create marine protected areas (MPAs). UNOC3 was no different – a total of 12 countries made announcements that involved the proposal of new MPAs or the designation or implementation of existing ones.
If all of these commitments come to fruition—totaling 5,932,538 km2 of new area—an additional 1.6% of the global ocean could be protected.
The vast majority of the announcements simply announced the intention to create a protected area. These proposed or committed MPAs are in the first stage of establishment: formally recognized but not yet affording on-the-water protections. It can take years for MPAs in early stages to reach the point of providing meaningful benefits to marine biodiversity.
While these announcements serve as important indicators of political will, there are no actual protections on the water until MPAs are implemented, and they are not responsive to changing conditions until they are actively managed.
Image: The four stages of establishment for marine protected areas.
Source: The Graphic Guide to Marine Protected Areas.
Large-Area Proposals
In an ambitious announcement, President Moetai Brotherson of French Polynesia committed to the creation of two new massive MPAs, 220,000 km2 around the Society Islands and 680,000 km2 near the Gambier Islands, totaling 900,000 km2 of newly proposed protections. He also detailed a number of conservation measures to be implemented, including a ban on deep-sea mining and fish-aggregating devices (FADs), and the establishment of 186,000 km2 of artisanal fishing zones around the Austral, Marquesas, Society, and Gambier Islands.
It is noteworthy that this announcement comes nine years after the Austral Islands and seven years after the Marquesas Island protections were originally proposed, and both have yet to come into effect.
Similarly, President Gabriel Boric of Chile announced the 350,000 km2 expansion of two of the world’s largest designated Marine Parks, Nazca-Desventuradas and Mar de Juan Fernández. Designated in 2016 and 2018, respectively, these parks are still awaiting the approval of their management plans and have yet to come into full effect on the water.
While these announcements are welcome signs of progress, the species and habitats within these important areas are not protected until conservation measures are implemented and enforced, or better yet, actively managed.
Implementation Success!
Only one country’s announcement advanced actual protections on the water. On May 1st, 2025, Samoa advanced the establishment of nine proposed MPAs by legally designating four and implementing the other five.
The implementation of these five fully protected MPAs bans mining, dredging, dumping, infrastructure, aquaculture, and fishing and regulates anchoring and non-extractive activities in 33,389 km2 of ocean area, bringing Samoa’s fully protected MPA coverage to 25.6% of its national waters!
The other four designated MPAs are to be implemented in 2027. While commitments and designations help build the momentum towards protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030 (30x30), it is this kind of tangible implementation and active management that we need to see to ensure a healthy ocean for the future.
Marine Protected Areas in Samoa.
Source: https://mpatlas.org/countries/WSM/
Other MPA Commitments
- The nations of the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea announced the world’s largest Indigenous-led MPA. The Melanesian Ocean Reserve’s committed area spans 4,628,248 km2 across all three countries.
- Additionally, the Solomon Islands committed to protecting 27,400 km2 of its national waters in MPAs and marine managed areas (MMAs) around the Temotu and Makira Provinces.
- Portugal announced its intention to implement Gorringe Bank, an area identified as a Site of Community Importance in 2015 and designated by Portuguese law in 2020. The implementation of this 22,881 km2 MPA will bring Portugal’s national marine protected area coverage to 25%.
- The Marshall Islands celebrated their 2024 implementation of the Bikar and Bokak National Marine Sanctuary spanning 48,000 km2.
- Colombia announced the creation of the Serranilla and Baja Nuevo MPA. Previously included in the 60,808 km2 Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, this 3,800 km2 area will receive “exclusive long-term protection status.” While boundaries for this new MPA are yet to be confirmed, the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve is currently made up of two zones with only 1,936 km2 or 3.2% of the site under full protection.
- Tanzania committed to the creation of two new MPAs, the North-East Pemba Conservation Area (837 km2) and the South-East Pemba Conservation Area (468 km2) that together would total 1,305 km2 of newly protected ocean.
- Sao Tome & Principe proposed the creation of eight new MPAs covering an area of 93 km2.
- Greece announced the intention to create two new MPAs and ban trawling within all Marine Parks.
Barriers to Implementation
With these promises, we look hopefully toward the 2030 horizon and emphasize the importance of MPAs’ degree of implementation and level of protection as we inch closer to 30%. If all UNOC3 announcements were implemented with stringent measures and adequate enforcement capacities, the combined area would increase our global number of highly and fully protected MPAs to 4.3%. Crucially, proposing an MPA is only the first step on a difficult road to durable, effective ocean protection. As demonstrated by the cases of the Chilean and French Polynesian MPAs, barriers to implementation can make the realization of these accomplishments difficult for a wide array of reasons.
Financing, namely, is a key piece of ensuring the successful implementation of MPAs. Marine Conservation Institute, et al., released a new report at this year's UNOC, warning of a $14.6 billion shortfall in ocean protection funding and highlighted the urgent need for increased investment and effective action. Moreover, 4.3% is a long shot from the 30% target. Halfway through the UN Ocean Decade, we now have five years to protect the remaining 27.3% of the ocean deemed necessary to preserve marine biodiversity and enhance climate resilience. It’s about time to kick things into high gear.
Explore our interactive Marine Protection Atlas to learn more about the stage of establishment and level of protection of MPAs around the world at mpatlas.org.
Blue Parks
While this may paint a dismal picture of current progress towards international goals, the good news is that there are plenty of inspiring examples of MPAs that are leading the way and demonstrating what it looks like when ocean conservation is done right. Marine Conservation Institute awarded four MPAs the prestigious Blue Park Award at UNOC, including Cahuita National Park (Costa Rica), Gorgona National Natural Park (Colombia), Kaho'olawe Island Reserve (Hawai'i, U.S.), and Shark Fin Bay MPA Network (Taytay, Philippines). To learn more about these ocean success stories and the people behind them, read our recent press release.
High Seas Treaty Ratification Progress
In addition to commitments made to protect areas within national jurisdiction, there was also significant progress towards ratification of the High Seas Treaty, an international framework that will enable the proposal—and eventual implementation—of MPAs in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ), which make up nearly two-thirds of our ocean and half of our planet.
Nineteen countries deposited their ratifications at UNOC3, bringing the total number of ratifications to 50 with several more in the pipeline. Once 60 ratifications are reached, the treaty will enter into force and become international law. At the current rate of progress, there is a strong likelihood that the treaty will be ratified by the UN General Assembly meeting this fall.
Currently, only 1% of the High Seas is protected—a percentage that has not changed much over the last decade. Under the BBNJ Treaty, there is potential for the percentage to increase at a faster rate over the next few years as countries move through the process of proposing, designating, implementing, and, eventually, actively managing MPAs in ABNJ. In theory, this could lead to the creation of more fully and highly protected MPAs and progress towards the 30x30 goal. In practice, many questions remain as to what these protections will look like on the water and how they will lead to equitable benefits for biodiversity and people.
To learn more about where the first generation of High Seas MPAs may be established and existing High Seas protections, such as fishery closures through Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs) and protections from deep-sea mining, check out Marine Conservation Institute’s High Seas Protection Tracker.
Protecting the Deep
Harmful extractive activities threatening deep-sea ecosystems—such as prospective deep-sea mining and destructive bottom trawling—were a major focus at the conference, with countries facing mounting pressure from civil society and ocean advocates to halt these practices or prevent them from starting altogether.
Deep Sea Mining
In his opening statement, French President Emmanuel Macron described deep-sea mining as “madness” and prompted world leaders to call for a moratorium on the practice. Several more countries voiced their support for a moratorium, bringing the total number to 37.
This momentum comes at a critical moment, as other countries, including the United States, accelerate efforts to exploit deep-sea ecosystems for their resources both within and outside national jurisdiction.
Bottom Trawling
Meanwhile, bottom trawling—a highly destructive fishing method—remains alarmingly widespread, even within implemented MPAs, particularly across the EU.
While the conference saw some new commitments aimed at restricting bottom trawling in protected waters, overall progress remains slow and enforcement inconsistent. Despite mounting scientific evidence and public pressure, meaningful action to fully eliminate this practice from MPAs is still lagging behind expectations. Here were some examples:
- France acknowledged the incompatibility of bottom trawling with the protection of biodiversity and committed to protecting 4% of national waters from the activity (an increase from the current 0.1%). This announcement was met with criticism, with many groups claiming that this showed a lack of commitment and ambition.
- Denmark proposed a law to ban bottom trawling in 17,000 km2 of its protected areas (over 17% of its national waters).
- UK Environment Secretary Steve Reed announced a ban on bottom trawling covering more than 30,000 km2, about half of English MPAs.
On World Ocean Day (June 8), Marine Conservation Institute, in partnership with the Deep Sea Conservation Coalition (DSCC) and the International Programme on the State of the Ocean (IPSO), urged scientists worldwide to sign an open letter to the UN demanding that leaders honor longstanding commitments to stop bottom trawling. We remain hopeful that world leaders will hear our plea to end an activity that directly undermines efforts to protect marine biodiversity.
Overall, the third UN Ocean Conference witnessed some meaningful progress and commitments towards effective, equitable ocean protection. The next challenge, however, will be to translate these commitments into meaningful action and implementation, turning promises into protections. For years, the international community has been coming together at conferences to sign agreements, adopt frameworks, and make public announcements for future actions. Today, we are in the 11th hour—the time to act is now.
At Marine Conservation Institute, we will continue to advocate for and track the implementation and effectiveness of MPAs as we strive to protect 30% of our ocean by 2030.