• A fleet of 30 vessels sets sail off Nice to celebrate World Oceans Day and kick off the UN Ocean Conference.
• The conference addresses urgent threats to the ocean, including pollution and overexploitation of resources.
• The High Seas Treaty aims to facilitate the establishment of marine protected areas in international waters.
• Environmental advocates criticize existing marine protections as inadequate for the challenges faced.
• New marine protected areas and conservation measures are expected to be announced during the conference.

A fleet of 30 research and exploration vessels from around the world set sail off the French coastal city of Nice on Sunday to inaugurate the third United Nations Ocean Conference, coinciding with World Oceans Day. The event, themed "Ocean Wonders," is designed to highlight the ocean's significance and appeal to world leaders on the importance of conservation as they make future decisions regarding environmental sustainability, according to Indiatimes and SCMP.

Thousands of delegates, including heads of state, scientists, and environmental advocates, are gathering in Nice this week to confront escalating threats to the ocean from rising temperatures, plastic pollution choking marine life, and relentless overexploitation of fish populations. Currently, only 2.7% of the world's oceans are effectively protected against destructive activities such as industrial fishing and deep-sea mining, which is significantly below the global target of 30% protection by 2030, according to LA Times and SCMP.

Featured among the participating vessels is the Energy Observer, a solar-panel-covered catamaran that has made history by being the first to circumnavigate the globe using solely renewable energy, generating hydrogen fuel through seawater electrolysis. Other notable ships include the Alfred Merlin, dedicated to underwater archaeology, the OceanXplorer, a high-tech research yacht owned by a billionaire, and the WWF's Blue Panda, which focuses on the mapping and protection of the Mediterranean's last remaining seagrass meadows, according to Indiatimes and LA Times.

The conference's central focus lies in the ratification of the High Seas Treaty, which, if adopted, would permit countries for the first time to create marine protected areas in international waters, which encompass nearly two-thirds of the ocean and remain largely unmanaged. Rebecca Hubbard, director of the High Seas Alliance, emphasized the treaty's importance for biodiversity, stating, "We’re in the middle of a biodiversity and climate crisis. We absolutely have to protect the ocean to address those crises," as reported by LA Times and SCMP.

Despite existing protections, many countries, including France, face backlash from environmental groups due to insufficient enforcement and ongoing industrial activities within designated marine protected areas. According to Sílvia Tavares, a project manager at Oceano Azul Foundation, “The ambition is not there, the speed is not there, and the scale has not been there," indicating the critical need for enhanced regulations and actions during the conference, as noted in Indiatimes and LA Times.

Throughout the conference, new marine protected areas and restrictions on harmful practices like bottom trawling are expected to be announced, enhancing the global initiative for marine conservation, according to Indiatimes, SCMP, and LA Times.