On the occasion of the 3rd United Nations Ocean Conference (UNOC), to be held in Nice in June 2025, the Fondation de la Mer is mobilizing on several fronts. From combating illegal fishing to restoring marine meadows and raising public awareness, the organization wants to make its voice heard.
From June 9 to 13, 2025, Nice will host over 30,000 participants from around the world for UNOC 3, an international conference dedicated to the preservation and sustainable use of oceans. The Fondation de la Mer will bring several concrete proposals and actively participate in the discussions.
Three priorities will guide its actions: fighting illegal fishing, restoring degraded marine ecosystems, and enhancing public awareness. These commitments extend the Foundation’s ten years of work, already active in the field with programs across the entire French coastline and beyond.
One of the main issues advocated is the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This practice accounts for up to 26 million tons of fish taken beyond authorized quotas. It endangers ecological balance, deprives local economies of resources, and is often linked to severe forms of criminality. The Foundation has published a reference report on this topic and will co-organize a dedicated event in Nice with several NGOs and European partners.
Another priority: the restoration of marine meadows. Essential for the climate, these ecosystems enable carbon storage, shelter biodiversity, and protect the coasts. During UNOC , the Fondation de la Mer will expand its “Alliance for European Seas” initiative, already active in the Mediterranean and Baltic Sea. In 2024, more than 6,600 posidonia plants were replanted as part of these projects.
Inform to Act
The Fondation de la Mer also emphasizes the need to involve as many people as possible. From June 6 to 12, it will host on Ruhl beach in Nice the “Sea Aperitifs”: mini-conferences accessible to all on topics like plastic pollution, corals, sharks, and monk seals.
This friendly format aims to make ocean-related issues understandable and to propose concrete action paths. “The goal is to create a sense of wonder to inspire the desire to protect,” summarizes the Foundation’s team.
The year 2024 has already been marked by strong civic engagement. According to the figures provided, more than 158,000 people were directly informed, 2,770 waste collections were organized, and 250,000 young people were educated thanks to a partnership with the National Education.
Among other notable actions, the “Let’s Fish the Oceans” program involves fishermen and upcycling stakeholders to recover marine waste. In Gironde, a pilot site against erosion has succeeded in protecting 60 hectares of dune cordon. In the Ionian Sea, studies are ongoing to monitor the monk seal population.
Finally, the Foundation hopes that France will use UNOC as an opportunity to assert its ambition. It calls for defending science with adequate resources and pushing for the swift adoption of the BBNJ (biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction) treaty. It also supports a moratorium on deep-sea mining.
“The Ocean needs science, all sciences,” remind the organizers of the One Ocean Science Congress, the scientific section of the UNOC that will be held from June 3 to 6 in Nice. The Fondation de la Mer is determined to make heard the voice of those who act at all levels.