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The ocean is essential for humanity1,2,3. Yet, inequity in ocean-based activities is widespread and accelerating4,5,6,7,8. Addressing this requires governance approaches that can systematically measure equity and track progress9. Here we present the Ocean Equity Index (OEI)—a framework for assessing and improving equity in ocean initiatives, projects and policies. We apply the index, which scores twelve criteria, to case studies at local, national and global scales. We show that the OEI can generate structured data to support evidence-based decision-making across ocean sectors and scales.

Research from Pew marine fellows is a critical resource for helping to protect large ocean species and can offer invaluable input as a network of high seas marine protected areas (MPAs) nears reality.

In September 2025, the United Nations General Assembly passed the high seas treaty, which sets rules to ensure the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in international waters that are not governed by a single nation. The agreement also establishes a legal framework to create the MPAs beginning this month.

Sharks and rays are sentinels of the state of the ocean. Since the mid-twentieth century, overall abundance has declined by nearly 65% and over one-third (37.5%) of species are threatened, causing widespread changes in community structure. This crisis stems from unregulated fisheries expansion coupled with inadequate catch-and-trade monitoring that fail to account for the complexity of shark and ray products, their use and global trade flows.

Mangroves, typical of tropical and subtropical latitudes, have become veritable natural traps for land- and sea-based waste. The roots of these trees, known as mangroves, have a great capacity to trap litter—from both land and sea—which gradually breaks down until it is buried in the muddy bottom.

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Effective restoration projects must generate meaningful benefits for both nature and people. While ecological gains are often well-documented, social outcomes — such as livelihoods, governance, well-being, equity, and cultural identity — are still less consistently measured and integrated across restoration literature and practice. This brief outlines why social outcomes matter and how to ensure

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reveals that organized civil society and social mobilization are key, yet often unrecognized, agents of global biodiversity conservation. By analyzing a global dataset of 2,801 socio-environmental mobilizations from the Environmental Justice Atlas (EJAtlas), the research identifies that local struggles against polluting industries are critical for protecting the planet's most sensitive, biodiverse regions.

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New research by Monash University and the ARC Center of Excellence for the Weather of the 21st Century analyzed close to three decades of weather data during the coral bleaching season and identified the prevalence of "doldrum days," and the absence of the trade winds, as a key factor in the mass bleaching events threatening the Great Barrier Reef.

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This report presents the first global overview of Important Shark and Ray Areas (ISRAs) for species listed under the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and its daughter agreement, the Memorandum of Understanding for the Conservation of Migratory Sharks (Sharks MOU). ISRAs are identified through a standardized, expert-driven process to map habitats essential for shark, ray, and chimaera species.

his guidebook is based on an understanding that social equity refers to fairness and justice with respect to the ways that people are recognised, treated, or impacted by conservation initiatives. It is also grounded on a common framework for assessing equity that includes six dimensions: recognitional, procedural, management, environmental, distributional, and contextual and structural equity.

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As the recent seizure of more than 5,000 endemic ants in Kenya reveals, ants have become part of a thriving global wildlife trade. Transnational traffickers are mopping up ants from the wild to sell them to hobbyists and collectors worldwide. In a recently published letter, conservationists are now calling for greater trade protections for all ant species under CITES, the global wildlife trade treaty.