The High Seas Treaty heralds a new era of global ocean governance

After nearly two decades of discussions and a 36-hour marathon of negotiations, Ambassador Rena Lee, President of the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Conference, announced on 4 March 2023 that “the ship has reached the shore” for a new, legally binding international treaty to protect marine life in international waters (High Seas Treaty).* This is the first time in over 40 years that world governments have gathered to finalize a treaty related to the ocean, and the first ever to address biodiversity in the high seas—finally putting this shared resource under global protection. In their lead article, Laiolo et al. (1) explain how understanding genomic diversity in the ocean is a critical pathway for science-based decision making to support both ocean conservation efforts and sustainable use of ocean resources. In this UN Decade of Ocean Science, the successful conclusion of the High Seas Treaty negotiations reflects an important shift in the world’s commitment to collectively address some of the most pressing challenges on our blue planet. To successfully implement the Treaty, a comprehensive science-based understanding of marine biodiversity and ecosystems in vast and largely unexplored ocean areas is necessary.