As a marine biologist, I am acutely aware of how human activities are increasingly impacting the ocean. From the global effects of climate disruption – warming, acidifying, and deoxygenating the ocean – to direct, localised impacts from fishing, oil and gas extraction, and pollution, many marine ecosystems are in decline, driving a biodiversity crisis in the ocean. The numbers are not encouraging.

Three quarters of pelagic sharks and rays are now threatened with extinction, and about half of tropical coral reefs – the most biodiverse ecosystems in the ocean – have been lost since the 1980s. With many coastal states looking to expand their blue economies and new industries such as deep-sea mining and carbon disposal threatening even the most remote areas of the ocean, urgent action is necessary to conserve and restore ocean life.

Despite this gloomy picture, significant progress has been made in ocean protection in the past five years. The Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework established global targets of conserving 30% of ecosystems and restoring 30% of degraded ecosystems, now embraced by coastal and island states. These nations recognise the value of ocean ecosystems, implementing ambitious goals for marine protected areas and conservation measures.

Last year marked a milestone with the agreement on protecting biodiversity beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) or the high seas, the most important ocean protection treaty in a generation. The BBNJ treaty establishes a legal framework for conserving over two thirds of the ocean by area and 90% by volume.

While promising, achieving a balanced Blue Economy requires comprehensive knowledge of ocean life distribution. While the estimate of total ocean biodiversity is between one to two million species, only 240,000 have been described, leaving 75-90% undiscovered. This presents a daunting challenge for humanity. Simply put, if we do not understand where life occurs in the ocean, how can we determine how best to protect it?

This raises the question of why we face such a vast knowledge gap in ocean life. In brief, the science of classifying species, or taxonomy, has fallen out of favour with funding agencies, governments, as well as academic institutions. Dismissed as mere “stamp collecting”, taxonomy is seen as unexciting, lacking in high-impact scientific publications, and consequently, taxonomists themselves are becoming an endangered species.

The ocean, with its 4 billion years of evolutionary history, harbours unique organisms absent from land and freshwater. Sponges, sea squirts, and marine snails have evolved intricate molecules for self-defence and predation. Biotechnology is uncovering their value, yielding new drugs for cancer, heart disease, and pain. Ocean life has also contributed to bioplastics, industrial enzymes, and scientific molecules, paving the way for sustainable technologies. Marine species are also vital for Earth’s life support system, producing oxygen and sequestering carbon in the ocean’s depths.

Providing 17% of animal protein, the ocean is a crucial food source, particularly for the global poor, ensuring essential nutrients for growth and development. Preserving ocean life is imperative for our own survival.

Recognising the importance of marine life, The Nippon Foundation of Japan and other philanthropies are sponsoring a new phase of ocean discovery. The Nippon Foundation – Nekton Ocean Census programme aims to accelerate the discovery of marine life by deploying new technologies and building human capacity in taxonomy globally through expeditions to the least explored parts of the ocean. Established just a year ago, the programme is already revealing a multitude of new species.

In the Bounty Trough, a vast rift valley west of New Zealand’s South Island, hundreds of thousands of specimens were collected in February 2024. Scientists from Ocean Census, New Zealand’s National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research, and Te Papa Tongarewa Museum are now analysing the collected animals, uncovering hundreds of new species, including over 70 molluscs, 3 fish species, a squid, new shrimps, other crustaceans, and various other life forms. Additionally, one animal was uncovered that cannot yet be classified, possibly representing a previously unseen group of coral.

Similarly, the Schmidt Ocean Institute‘s recent expedition on R.V. Falkor (Too) to seamounts in the southeastern Pacific, led by Chilean scientists, discovered over 100 species. By highlighting this diversity and its significance, I hope to foster appreciation for ocean life. Only through such appreciation will society advocate for ocean protection and support the scientists dedicated to marine life discovery.

Gaining a better understanding of life in the ocean is a major challenge, akin in terms of resources to the costs of a major space program. However, I would argue that a more complete understanding of what lives in earth’s inner space – the ocean – is more important to our survival than the exploration of outer space.

While a technological revolution and new space race draws our attention skyward, it’s vital to recognise the ocean’s role as a frontier of scientific discovery.