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"Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea,” legendary marine biologist and diver, Sylvia Early, once said. The ocean is crucial for sustainable life on Earth and we all depend on it to survive.

It provides billions of people with food for their livelihoods, more than half of the oxygen that we need to breathe, and it regulates our planet’s climate and weather.

And yet our oceans’ health is deteriorating and more needs to be done to preserve this crucial resource for a  sustainable future.

In 2017, the United Nations held its first Ocean Conference to mobilize action for the conservation and sustainable use of all marine resources, recognizing its importance to humanity’s wellbeing. The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development was kicked off as part of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, identifying 17 Sustainability Goals (SDGs) with the aim to balance our economic, environmental and social needs.

Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG 14) focuses on Life Below Water, setting out to “conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”.

Our new Research Topic on SDG 14: Life Below Water is now open for submissions

Share your research addressing the development and implementation of science-based solutions towards a sustainable ocean, supporting mitigation and adaptation policies to global change.

Perspectives on how to provide better stewardship of ocean resources through marine research to build a sustainable Blue Economy are particularly encouraged.

For this Research Topic we are drawing on the key issues as identified by the World Economic Forum’s Transformation Map around the SDG 14 targets including:

•              Overfishing

•              Emerging Ocean Technologies

•              Pollution and the Oceans

•              Mass Extinction

•              Human Well-Being and Oceans

•              Climate Change Impacts

•              Shifting Ocean Governance

As Astronomer Carl Sagan puts it: It’s time to “preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”

For any questions, please contact the Journal Editorial Team: marinescience@frontiersin.org