One Ocean

Tuesday, 16 June 2026

Preparing for the 11th Our Ocean Conference

I grew up in Chile, a country that stretches like a thin line between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, with more than 4,000 kilometers of coastline. The sea is not just scenery but life itself–artisanal fishermen, coastal communities, entire families whose livelihoods depend on what the ocean gives and what we, in return, must protect.

A moment of strain and a reason to push harder

We meet in Mombasa, Kenya for the 11^th Our Ocean Conference, June 16-18, 2026, at a difficult time for multilateralism. Processes we have long relied upon, including those hosted by the United Nations, face real challenges. Geopolitical tensions, competing priorities and institutional fatigue test the frameworks that have guided international cooperation for decades.

It would be easy to retreat—to wait for better conditions. But the ocean cannot wait.

The ocean is warming and acidifying. Biodiversity loss is accelerating. Plastic pollution chokes coastlines from Mombasa to Valparaíso in Chile. And under the ocean’s surface, in places we are only beginning to understand, ecosystems critical to life on Earth could face exploitation before we’ve even fully mapped or understood them.

This is precisely why platforms like the Our Ocean Conference matter more than ever.

The Our Ocean Conference: Proof that concrete action is possible

Since its inception, the Our Ocean Conference has mobilized more than 2,900 commitments worth approximately $169 billion. These are not abstract pledges; they are tangible investments in marine protected areas, maritime security, sustainable blue economy and fisheries, pollution reduction and climate resilience.

The conference works because it is based on mobilizing concrete actions. Governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the private sector and philanthropies come together not just to talk, but to commit and to report on whether the investments have delivered.

Ocean Conservancy has participated in every Our Ocean Conference since its inception. This year, at the 11th conference in Mombasa, we are advancing solutions on multiple fronts: ocean-climate diplomacy, a fossil fuel-free ocean, responsible offshore renewable energy, and building coalitions to address plastic pollution, including the scourge of abandoned, lost and discarded fishing gear.

But one initiative feels especially urgent.

Protecting the twilight zone before it’s too late

The mesopelagic zone, also known as the ocean’s “twilight zone,” spanning depths of 200 to 1,000 meters beneath the ocean’s surface, is one of the planet’s most critical ecosystems. By some estimates, it harbors upwards of 90% of the ocean’s fish biomass. It is home to prey species that sustain commercially important fisheries and marine wildlife. And through the biological carbon pump, it sequesters an estimated 2 to 6 gigatons of carbon annually, double the emissions of all cars worldwide, making it essential to climate stability.

Yet this ecosystem remains largely unprotected. Growing demand for fishmeal and health supplements is driving commercial interest in exploiting mesopelagic species. In addition, management gaps leave this vast zone vulnerable before we fully understand the impacts of disrupting this area of the ocean.

At the Our Ocean Conference, Ocean Conservancy, Environmental Defense Fund, and the Marine Conservation Institute, with support from a number of partners, will launch the Mesopelagic Zone Conservation Challenge. This voluntary initiative brings together governments, research institutions and civil society to prioritize conservation through a precautionary approach, advance scientific research and integrate twilight zone protections into international frameworks.

We have already built momentum. Last year, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress adopted Resolution 035, urging members worldwide to protect the integrity of the mesopelagic zone. And foundational work was completed to assess management gaps, identify conservation opportunities and develop a science-to-action framework.

The triple planetary crisis demands a united response

We are confronting a triple planetary crisis: climate change, biodiversity loss and plastic pollution. These threats are interconnected, nowhere more visibly than in our ocean. Addressing this crisis requires the kind of collaborative action that feels hardest when institutions are strained. But it is precisely in difficult times that we must strengthen, not abandon, our shared work.

The ocean does not care about geopolitics. It does not pause for elections or negotiations. It continues to warm, to acidify, to absorb our plastics and our carbon. And it continues to sustain billions of people who, like the fishing communities I grew up watching along Chile’s coast, depend on its health for their survival.

Our Ocean is an opportunity to prove that multilateralism still works, that when we come together around shared goals, we can still achieve what no nation can accomplish alone. The ocean taught me, as it taught Neruda, that we are part of something larger than ourselves. It asks nothing of us except that we pay attention, and that we act.

For the ocean.

Chilean poet Pablo Neruda understood the importance of the ocean:

Necesito del mar porque me enseña.”

Pablo Nerudo

Chilean poet

The ocean teaches. It teaches us about resilience, interdependence, life. And right now, it is teaching us something urgent: that even when the systems we’ve built to protect it are under strain, we cannot afford to look away.

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Tuesday, 9 June 2026

All About Gobies

There are more than 2,000 species of gobies (Gobiidae) known to science today, making them the largest family of fish in the ocean. But these small creatures are far more complex and essential to marine ecosystems than first meets the eye. Found all around the world in brackish, fresh and salt water in tropical and subtropical regions, they are an astonishingly diverse group of fish with several curious characteristics that set them apart.

Most gobies are quite small and don’t usually measure more than six inches long. Measuring just about eight millimeters long, the dwarf pygmy goby (Trimmatom nanus) is not only the tiniest goby known to science but also one of the smallest of all fish species in the world.

Primarily bottom-dwellers, gobies are known to be excellent foragers and have evolved expert burrowing behaviors over time. As they sift around looking for food like copepods, seaworms and tiny crustaceans, their movement helps to aerate sediment and keep algae in check. Some are even known to be “cleaner fish,” snacking on parasites they remove off larger creatures. It’s like a spa day for the animal being cleaned and a choose-your-own-adventure buffet for the gobies. Studies also show that cleaner goby activity is largely tied to the microbial health of coral reefs, showcasing that even the tiniest of species are essential to functioning marine ecosystems.

Gobies have some unique aspects to their anatomy, too. First, their fused pelvic fins are designed to help them form a strong suction cup to perch on coral reefs, rocks and other ocean terrain amidst turbulent currents. Some freshwater species are even known to use this suction to climb waterfalls. It may come as no surprise then that gobies are cousins to mudskippers, animals known to “walk” through mud. There are more species-specific features that set certain gobies apart. From the use of bioluminescence to symbiotic relationships with shrimp, the adaptations within the goby family are truly wide-ranging. Some species have even been found to use marine terrain memorization to navigate back to the tide pools where they were born. Isn’t nature mind-blowing sometimes?

Gobies have equally complex and varied behaviors. Male gobies are infamous for being territorial protectors of their nests. Many larger males are known as “guarders;” these hopeful fish make careful nests to attract a mate, and once fertilization occurs, guarders will remain diligently near the nests to keep eggs safe. However, there’s another type of male goby that complicates this dynamic. These other males are known as “sneaker gobies” and are called that for one reason: They’re sneaky! If guarder gobies aren’t careful, sneakers can creep into the nest, fertilize some of the eggs and quickly escape. As if on an underwater episode of Maury, guarder males who aren’t careful could end up unknowingly babysitting little gobies that aren’t their actual offspring.

Gobies serve as indicators of ecological health and are essential to keeping delicate food webs in check. Unfortunately, many changes in our ocean threaten their ability to survive and thrive today. Coral bleaching and degradation endanger the health of one of their key habitats, and a combination of warming waters and coastal development can make it difficult for both juvenile and adult gobies to survive and thrive.

Healthy gobies mean a healthy ocean. Their essential role in marine ecosystems demonstrates that even the tiniest creatures play a major role in helping hold together the beautiful yet fragile habitats that make up our beloved ocean. Visit Ocean Conservancy’s Action Center and join the movement to protect our blue planet today and for years to come—from the tiniest goby to the largest whales, our ocean is counting on us.

Lemon Gobies Inhabit an old bottle — Amy Zamurut – Lemon Gobies

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Tuesday, 2 June 2026

Do You Know the Difference Between El Niño and La Niña?

Recently, you may have heard about something called “El Niño.” But what exactly is El Niño and its sibling “La Niña”? Why do these terms seem to emerge from the depths of the scientific community and drop into popular vocabulary every few years? And how are they connected to extreme weather and our ocean?

What Are El Niño and La Niña?

El Niño and La Niña are part of a natural climate pattern in the tropical Pacific called the El Niño-Southern Oscillation, or ENSO. These two phases are different sides of the same coin, creating equally extreme shifts in temperature and air pressure.

El Niño occurs when surface water in the equatorial Pacific becomes warmer than average and easterly winds weaken. La Niña is the opposite: cooler-than-normal sea surface temperatures and stronger easterly winds. ENSO cycles can last up to seven years. El Niño and La Niña significantly impact weather patterns in all corners of the globe, often leading to more extreme weather, storm frequency and intensity.

A strong El Niño can cause flooding in some regions and drought, heat waves and wildfires in others. It often causes crop losses, coral bleaching and marine die-offs due to unusually warm ocean temperatures. El Niño tends to suppress Atlantic hurricane activity, though it increases the risk of heavy precipitation and harm to fisheries elsewhere. In the Northern Hemisphere, El Niño typically builds between March and June, peaks in December, and weakens by February.

La Niña, by contrast, often fuels an active Atlantic hurricane season and increases tornado frequency across the southern United States. Like El Niño, it builds in spring and peaks around December.

Predicting ENSO

In 1923, the physicist Sir Gilbert Walker discovered the “Southern Oscillation,” or large-scale changes in sea level pressure across the tropical Pacific. However, it wasn’t until the late 1960s that the metorologist Jacob Bjerknes found that the changes in the ocean and the atmosphere were connected, and the hybrid term “ENSO” was born. In 1974, researchers at Oregon State University attempted to predict ENSO for the first time.

Modeling has greatly advanced since the early days. Today, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issue regular predictions about ENSO, which are now more accurate than ever.

NOAA gives a one-in-four chance that an El Niño could reach “very strong” intensity later in 2026, qualifying it as a “super El Niño.” This threshold has been crossed only a handful of times in recorded history, each triggering droughts, floods and record temperatures across multiple continents. NOAA’s data and models deliver life-saving early warning forecasts, like that of the predicted super El Niño, which allow communities to better prepare for and respond to extreme weather events.

a graphic depicting the el niño and la niña phenomena

Take Action

Every American, regardless of where they live, depends on NOAA’s scientists and professionals, whose work spans from the ocean floor to the far reaches of space. Unfortunately, NOAA is under threat. The Trump administration has proposed billions of dollars in cuts to the agency, which could weaken weather forecasting, disrupt fisheries management and stall critical ocean research, putting American lives and global scientific leadership at risk.

Ocean Conservancy is committed to working with NOAA to keep the public informed on climate and ocean science. We all benefit from a healthier ocean, and investing in research is the most effective way to restore ocean health and reduce the impact of severe weather events caused by El Niño and La Niña. Our ocean is not partisan, and protecting it requires all hands on deck and all sides of the aisle. Now, it’s more important than ever to demand that members of Congress prioritize our ocean. Add your name now.

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Friday, 8 May 2026

Osprey: The Ocean’s Most Specialized Bird of Prey

Have you ever seen a sleek, brown-and-white bird hover above the ocean, fold its wings and drop into the water like a cannonball, only to surface seconds later with a fish in its grip? If so, you have probably seen an osprey.

A water-loving bird of prey

Ospreys are birds of prey, also known as raptors. Birds of prey are carnivorous predators that actively hunt and feed on other animals. However, unlike most birds of prey, the osprey’s diet consists of approximately 99% live fish, including catfish, trout and mackerel. Because of their feeding habits, ospreys, also called sea hawks, have unique traits that make them elite hunters of the sea.

Structure and hunting

When ospreys spot a fish, they dive from nearly 100 feet in the air. During the dive, they close their nostrils, called nares, to prevent water from entering.

Ospreys are the only birds of prey that can dive feet-first into water, allowing them to form a streamlined shape that helps them pierce the surface and protect their heads. Their dense, oily feathers act like a wetsuit, keeping them water-resistant during dives.

Once they make contact with prey, they use their reversible outer toes and barbed foot pads, called spicules, to grip the slippery scales of the fish.

After securing their catch, ospreys use their nearly six-foot wingspan to generate the lift needed to carry fish that can weigh nearly as much as they do out of the water.

Finally, once airborne, the osprey rotates the fish to point headfirst, an aerodynamic adjustment that reduces wind resistance on the flight back to the nest.

This specialized anatomy allows ospreys to catch a fish in approximately one out of every four dives.

Habitat and breeding

Because of their dependence on fish, ospreys always live within sight of water. They typically build their nests atop dead trees or man-made structures along harbors and bays, such as channel markers, duck blinds and utility poles.

Both parents help construct the nest. These large structures, sometimes exceeding 300 pounds, are built with sticks and lined with materials like moss and seaweed.

Ospreys breed across every continent except Antarctica, inhabiting ocean coastlines, saltwater marshes, lagoons, estuaries, river mouths and even coral reefs.

Osprey pairs incubate an average of three eggs for roughly one month before they hatch. Chicks then remain in the nest for about 55 days before fledging, the stage in a bird’s life when it develops its feathers and wings enough to leave the nest and fly for the first time.

Why are ospreys important for our ocean?

Ospreys serve as living indicators of ocean health. Because they sit at the top of the marine food chain, they are highly sensitive to pollution and changes in fish populations. A decline in osprey nesting success can signal pollution, overfishing or habitat degradation.

That is why at Ocean Conservancy, we are working to address the ocean’s biggest threats, from plastic pollution to the climate crisis. But we cannot do this work alone. We need advocates like you to protect ospreys and all marine wildlife. Please take action and help us defend our ocean today.

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