World Ocean Day: A unified approach to protect biodiversity 

Approximately two million species inhabit the world’s oceans, but scientists have only described about 10% of them. With rising extinction rates and global biodiversity threats, many species could vanish before being identified or their benefits understood. 

National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy 

The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy, led by the Smithsonian and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has recently called for a more unified approach to ocean conservation. This strategy aims to enhance the ability of scientists to gather and share knowledge and use it for more effective protections.

“We are confronting biodiversity loss and its implications for human well-being, alongside the challenges posed by climate change and social inequity,” said Ellen Stofan, Under Secretary for Science and Research at the Smithsonian. 

“But we hold the power to overcome these obstacles with a united, society-wide effort to preserve nature and its benefits.”

Ocean benefits will degrade with biodiversity loss 

The health and prosperity of the U.S. are closely tied to the ocean, contributing nearly $400 billion annually to the economy and providing 2.4 million jobs. The U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone, covering an area larger than all 50 states combined, benefits greatly from the ocean’s diverse species and habitats.

“Life in the ocean touches everyone,” said Gabrielle Canonico, leader of the U.S. Marine Biodiversity Observation Network at NOAA and co-chair of the strategy team. 

“Every other breath we take comes from the oxygen produced by microscopic ocean plants, and more than a billion people worldwide rely on food from the ocean as their primary source of protein. But these and other benefits will degrade with biodiversity loss, with dire consequences especially for frontline communities.”

Critical gaps in our knowledge of ocean wildlife 

Despite the ocean’s vast benefits, critical gaps remain in the protection and knowledge of ocean life. Current information is scattered across different organizations, making it difficult to share. 

Many smaller organisms, crucial for maintaining ecosystems, are barely studied. The strategy aims to address this by strengthening the ocean observing system and information pipeline.

“We are advancing frontier technologies for biodiversity science and understanding,” said Sarah Kapnick, NOAA chief scientist. “But it is critical that we come together around the use of evidence-based metrics and indicators for decision-making in ocean spaces, and for monitoring, reporting, and verification to ensure that investments in conservation or development deliver the desired outcomes while minimizing negative impacts to ocean life.”

Ocean biodiversity is in trouble 

“Biodiversity is the beating heart of the ocean that supports society, but it’s in trouble,” noted Emmett Duffy, chief scientist of MarineGEO at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center and co-chair of the strategy team. 

“This strategy is our best chance yet to turn the tide. We need to implement it to reach a future where people and the rest of nature thrive together by joining forces and leveraging the power of people and technology to understand the living ocean ecosystem.”

Roadmap to a more sustainable ocean

The National Ocean Biodiversity Strategy outlines a three-pronged plan to create a more inclusive, evidence-based network of protection in U.S. ocean waters and the Great Lakes:

• Coordinate ocean research and conservation across the entire nation: This involves bringing together federal agencies with ocean-related missions to engage stakeholders, including states, Tribes, and local communities, to co-design solutions. Part of this process includes documenting the economic and cultural values of the ocean to reveal hidden costs of degrading nature and incorporating them into economic decision-making across government and private sectors.
• Strengthen the U.S. information pipeline: The U.S. has a wealth of data on ocean life, but much of it is inaccessible to policymakers and managers. The strategy calls for stronger support of centralized, open-source databases accessible to all stakeholders. This also involves revamping taxonomy to reveal undiscovered species and using new technologies like environmental DNA (eDNA), satellites, and artificial intelligence to track biodiversity.
• Conserve, restore, and sustainably use ocean biodiversity: Success hinges on partnerships with states, Tribes, local communities, NGOs, and the private sector. Listening sessions will help build collaborations based on trust, allowing managers to co-create protection measures that work long-term with community input.

According to the experts, this strategy is a high-level roadmap to a more sustainable ocean and a first step toward implementing a plan to outline specific actions tailored to regions and communities based on stakeholder feedback.

The full strategy can be found on the Office of Science and Technology Policy website.

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