June 2024: A landmark win for nature, the latest data on ocean floor mapping, and the secret sex lives of corals.

Here’s our round-up of some of this month’s exciting ocean science news!?

EU countries adopt law to restore at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030.

In a historic win for people and the planet, European Union countries have adopted the Nature Restoration Law, which aims to restore at least 20% of the EU's land and sea areas by 2030 and all ecosystems in need of restoration by 2050.??

For marine ecosystems, this includes seagrass and sponge and coral beds, among others. In addition, the law aims to turn at least 25,000 km of rivers into free-flowing rivers by 2030 through the removal of artificial, obsolete barriers. Rivers naturally transport and sediments from land to sea, These nutrients support coastal ecosystems, and the sediment protects shorelines from erosion. Removing old dams will therefore benefit ecosystems in rivers and far at sea.??

?? Restoring marine ecosystems is at the heart of the mission of the Ocean Decade, and is the focus of the Ocean Decade Challenge 2. As part of this, through global programmes such as Marine Life 2030, Healthy Rivers Healthy Ocean by SIWI - Stockholm International Water Institute , or the Coral Reef Sentinel by the Smithsonian Institution , scientists across the world are researching, developing and implementing innovative solutions to restore our ocean’s health.??

26.1% of the ocean floor has now been mapped.

The flagship #OceanDecade initiative Seabed 2030 has announced that it has now mapped 26.1% of the ocean floor, marking an increase of 4.34 million square kilometres of new data – equating to an area the size of the European Union. This is a testament to the continuous efforts and advancements in seafloor mapping technologies and activities.

This global effort to uncover the Earth’s final frontier has also made remarkable marine discoveries possible, from the characterisation of the largest known deep-sea coral reef habitat off the southeast U.S. coast by NOAA: National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration to the groundbreaking discovery of four underwater mountains by Schmidt Ocean Institute . ? ?

The secret sex life of coral revealed.

Corals sustain 25% of all marine life, but these precious ecosystems are under threat from climate change and pollution. To better protect coral, it's first necessary to understand them, in particular their reproductive life cycle. For the first time, researchers from the University of Tokyo have modelled how corals reproduce, a phenomenon called ‘coral spawning’ where corals release eggs and sperm into the water simultaneously.?

This month, we also released the Ocean Decade Vision 2030 White Papers! These 10 comprehensive documents, each focusing on a specific Ocean Decade Challenge, represent a collaborative effort to develop the science we need for the ocean we want. Each White Paper delves into the resources, infrastructure, partnerships, capacity development, and technology solutions necessary to achieve our goals by 2030, providing strategic recommendations to ensure we meet these challenges and pave the way for a sustainable future for our ocean. Download them here.