World Ocean Day provides an opportunity to celebrate the ocean's extraordinary contribution to our planet and reflect on our responsibility to understand and protect it.
Celebrated annually on June 8, it was first proposed by Canada at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and later formally recognised by the United Nations.
The reasons we value the ocean are many. Oceans regulate climate, generate much of the oxygen we breathe, and provide food and livelihoods for billions of people, all underpinned by an astonishing diversity of life.
They also inspire wonder, discovery and scientific exploration.
For more than two decades, Professor Jessica Meeuwig AM, Wen Family Chair in Conservation at The University of Western Australia, has worked to understand and document marine biodiversity across Australia's oceans and beyond.
This research relies on Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems (BRUVS), a non-destructive method that uses underwater cameras to record marine wildlife in its natural environment.
In 2028, the Federal Government will undertake its once-a-decade review of Commonwealth Marine Parks, providing a critical opportunity to strengthen ocean protection.
Professor Meeuwig's Marine Futures Lab has been preparing for this review for almost 15 years, building one of the world's most extensive long-term datasets on how open-ocean wildlife responds to protection.
The Marine Futures Lab has conducted more than 40 expeditions across 13 Commonwealth Marine Parks spanning approximately 3,000 kilometres of Western Australian coastline.
During the first half of 2026, the team returned to Perth Canyon Marine Park, Geographe Marine Park and South-west Corner Marine Park, extending long-term monitoring programs that now span a decade.
Together, these surveys represent the most comprehensive and longest-running global monitoring programs for open-ocean wildlife.
"The ocean is home to some of the most magnificent wildlife on Earth, yet much of it remains unseen and poorly understood," Professor Meeuwig said.
"Long-term monitoring allows us to move beyond snapshots and understand how marine ecosystems change through time.
“As Australia prepares for the 2028 Marine Park review, these data provide a powerful evidence base to ensure protection is guided by science and delivers meaningful outcomes for marine biodiversity."
On World Ocean Day, we are reminded that effective conservation begins with understanding. Every survey and every new observation help build the evidence needed to protect our oceans for future generations.