The problems of the oceans are often overlooked in favour of those on land, but a slew of meetings this year could put us on a path to the sustainable development of the seas

“HOW inappropriate to call this planet Earth when it is quite clearly Ocean”. That quote, usually attributed to Arthur C. Clarke, pops up regularly at ocean science conferences, but is no less true for being a cliché. The ocean covers 71 per cent of the planet’s surface and makes up 95 per cent of the area that is habitable by life.

Increasingly, it is being exploited by us. As our special report on what has been termed the “blue acceleration” details, over the past 20 years, the ocean economy – fish, ships, hydrocarbons, wind energy, cables, tourism and …