Just days before the United Nations Ocean Conference, hundreds of ocean advocates gathered in Nice to demand urgent action for ocean protection.
The demonstration, led by Brussels-based coalition Seas At Risk and supported by global marine and environmental NGOs, followed the European Commission’s recent unveiling of its Ocean Pact.
“People from across the planet marched today to speak up for the voiceless ocean,” said Monica Verbeek, executive director of Seas At Risk. “It gives us half the oxygen we breathe and stabilises our climate, yet we continue to treat it like a garbage bin.”
The march on 7 June, held under the banner Protect the ocean, protect life, called attention to the accelerating decline of marine biodiversity, rising sea temperatures, and political inaction. Participants demanded firm, binding commitments from leaders attending the UN Ocean Conference.
World champion freediver and Nice native Guillaume Néry, speaking at the event, added: “This summit must not be yet another stab in the dark. We’re out of time. Enough talking. The ocean doesn’t need fine words; it needs courage – political courage – and commitment.” Another freediver, Alessia Zecchini, earlier protested with a 40m dive off the coast of Marseille.
The demonstrators’ demands echo the Blue Manifesto, a civil society roadmap for a healthy ocean by 2030. It includes science-backed calls such as banning destructive fishing practices like bottom trawling in marine protected areas, involving coastal and Indigenous communities in ocean governance, and adopting the ‘Protection Principle’ to make conservation the norm.
As ocean health reaches a critical tipping point, advocates stressed the urgency of action. “The science is clear, the solutions are known, and the public is mobilised,” said Verbeek. “Now is the time to act – for the ocean, the planet, and future generations.”
