A day of joy for the sea: the Global Ocean Treaty comes officially into force

With the passing of 120 days since its ratification, the Global Ocean Treaty officially came into force on January 17, 2026, allowing us to celebrate the results of two decades of relentless campaigning to protect the sea, home to millions of species and vital ecosystems.

Although national and European frameworks for marine protection already exist, this Treaty is very important. With only 0.9% of the world’s open ocean subject to full or high levels of protection, the Treaty is vital for extending protection, creating marine refuges – which help mitigate the climate crisis – and ensuring food security for the billions of people who depend on marine resources.

Although targets such as 30X30 are in place for national waters, the Treaty paves the way for the effective protection of transnational waters, a necessary legal step, as nature, wildlife, and ecosystems do not obey boundaries such as borders and require more holistic and expanded approaches.

• What does it mean that the Treaty is coming into force?

Governments that have ratified the Treaty, such as Greece, are now legally obliged to take measures to protect it.

This legal obligation should lead to meaningful attunement and serious steps towards protecting the sea.

• What we expect now:

Government commitment to substantive measures are a one-way street. Our message to governments is clear:

• The Treaty must have the power to implement measures quickly, without delays or dependence on bodies such as Regional Fisheries Management Organizations.
• A first series of refuges must be created to control human activity and allow ecosystems to recover. These areas must be fully or largely protected, ensuring that vast swathes of the oceans are closed to destructive human activities, unlike many of today’s marine protected areas, which are only protected on paper.
• Fisheries must be controlled, especially the big players in the industrial fishing industry. Mismanagement of marine ecosystems and the inadequacy of regional fisheries management organizations have led to the overfishing of  35.4% of global fish stocks, with the Mediterranean being one of the most overfished seas in the world. The decline in fish stocks and their uneven exploitation by large players at the expense of local fisheries, as well as the widespread use of destructive fishing gear, have led to a widespread and rapidly evolving crisis, which the Treaty can and must address.
• The implementation of serious policies to protect marine ecosystems from extractive activities and commitment to an international moratorium on deep-sea mining (DSM), a new destructive form of mining for metals that will cause irreparable damage to the oceans.
• A dynamic approach of continuous protection. The significant achievement of reaching the 30% quantitative target must be the starting point, not the end point, of marine protection. A commitment is needed to expand Protected Areas, establish ecological corridors, and establish areas of Absolute Protection (10%).

As with any environmental policy, this Treaty must be the beginning, not the end, of a series of ongoing commitments and tangible policies for the protection of the sea. In a socio-political context of undermining international laws and agreements, we demand that the Treaty not be made  symbolic victory, but a real impetus for action.