Two ocean-science-led commitments anchored the opening day of the 11th Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa on 16 June 2026. Ocean Conservancy, the Government of Panama and seven partners launched the Mesopelagic Zone Conservation Challenge — the first governmental Charter aimed at the ocean's twilight zone — while the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO (IOC-UNESCO) used the EU summit margins to unveil OceanEye, a renewed push to sustain the Global Ocean Observing System.
The mesopelagic zone is the band of ocean 200 to 1,000 metres below the surface. It holds an estimated 90 percent of global fish biomass in roughly 20 percent of the ocean's volume, and its diel-migrating animals lock away an estimated 2 to 6 gigatonnes of carbon every year, Ocean Conservancy said in its OOC11 briefing. Until now it has had no dedicated international management regime.
What the Charter commits
At 14:30 East Africa Time on 16 June, at PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort in Mombasa, "champion governments" formally signed the Mesopelagic Charter at a side event organised by Ocean Conservancy with the Government of Panama, the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science Association (WIOMSA), the Environmental Defense Fund, Marine Conservation Institute, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The Charter binds signatories to four operative commitments: apply a precautionary approach to any activity that could affect the zone, advance scientific research to fill knowledge gaps, establish robust management frameworks for potential resource use, and advocate for international safeguards.
"Without urgent, coordinated leadership to protect the mesopelagic zone, we risk destroying an ecosystem that we know is critical to life on our blue planet," Chris Dorsett, Vice President of Conservation at Ocean Conservancy, said in a statement. "That is why we are uniting governments to launch the Mesopelagic Zone Conservation Challenge this year at Our Ocean."
The economic pressure is real and measurable. Industry interest in mesopelagic species, principally lanternfish (Myctophidae), has risen with demand for aquaculture feed and nutraceutical omega-3 supplements; warming ocean temperatures and deoxygenation are compounding the biological stress. The Charter aligns with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework's 30-by-30 target and the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction Agreement that entered into force on 17 January 2026.
IOC-UNESCO's funding case
The science backbone for any such regime is global ocean observation, and IOC-UNESCO used the conference to argue that the backbone is underfunded. On 15 June the European Union and IOC-UNESCO unveiled the OceanEye initiative — an International Alliance to Sustain GOOS — under which the EU will provide EUR 2.5 million in initial support, the United Kingdom will contribute through the Joint Initiative on GOOS, and Norway, Sweden, the United States and Australia have committed support. The IOC will lead a dedicated side event at OOC11 on 17 June from 13:00 to 14:15 at the Dodori Room, PrideInn Paradise, to broaden the funder base.
"Strengthening the Global Ocean Observing System is not just a scientific challenge, it is a governance challenge. We need an optimised system that countries can sustain over time, and this will only be possible with stronger investments and closer cooperation with governments," Vidar Helgesen, IOC Executive Secretary and UNESCO Assistant Director-General, said on 15 June 2026.
IOC-UNESCO will also lead and co-lead sessions on From Science to Sovereignty on 18 June — a high-level dialogue on how ocean science can drive Africa's inclusive blue economy — and on advancing large marine seascapes in the Western Indian Ocean, according to the IOC's OOC11 programme.
The dollar context
The Our Ocean Conference has registered more than 2,900 voluntary commitments worth over USD 169 billion since 2014; the 2025 Busan edition produced 287 commitments worth USD 9.1 billion. The Mombasa pledge total will be announced at the closing plenary on 18 June. Roughly 5,000 delegates are participating; the conference's six action areas remain marine protected areas, sustainable blue economy, climate change, maritime security, sustainable fisheries and marine pollution.
Day-one ambition was framed by Kenyan Cabinet Secretary Hassan Ali Joho's opening remarks and a virtual keynote from President William Ruto. Pew Charitable Trusts, in a pre-conference brief, flagged the underlying gap: marine ecosystems cover 71 percent of the planet but receive only 14 percent of international conservation funding, and only 10 percent of marine areas are protected against the 30 percent 2030 target.
OceanVines lens
What is notable in Mombasa is the order of arrival: science-led commitments — a twilight-zone charter and an observation alliance — anchoring the opening day before headline MPA dollar figures land at closing. For ocean education, that sequencing matters. It centres knowledge as the foundation of stewardship, exactly the work we exist to support — to illuminate the inner sparks of every life we touch through our efforts in ocean conservation and education.
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