2025 UN World Oceans Day Highlights ‘Wonder’ of the Deep Blue Sea

Each year since 2009, United Nations World Oceans Day (UN WOD) has celebrated the vast life-sustaining world that covers 70 percent of our planet, more than 90 percent of which remains unexplored.

The theme of this year’s UN WOD is “Wonder: Sustaining what sustains us,” in celebration of the watery world that produces at least half of Earth’s oxygen, is the home of most of the biodiversity on the planet and is the primary source of protein for over one billion people.

“It is our life source, supporting humanity’s sustenance and that of every other organism on earth,” a UN press release said. “Not to mention, the ocean is key to our economy with an estimated 40 million people being employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.”

With all the ocean provides for us, its ecosystems need our help. Ninety percent of large fish populations have been depleted, and half the world’s coral reefs have been destroyed. We are taking more than nature can replenish from the ocean and must create a new balance that restores it rather than overtaxing its bounty.

UN WOD on June 8 was the kickoff to the UN Ocean Conference from June 9 to 13 in Nice, France.

The purpose of UN WOD is to remind everyone of the enormous role oceans play in our everyday lives. Not only are they the lungs of the planet and a main source of medicine and food, they are a crucial part of the biosphere.

Bringing our collective attention to the ocean on UN WOD also serves as a reminder of the impact human actions are having on the ocean in order to mobilize and unite us to work toward sustainable management of our oceans.

The wonder of our oceans is being celebrated this year with a variety of events that include a screening of the documentary film The Last Dive at the Tribeca Film Festival and the presentation of photographs by the winners of the 2025 World Oceans Day Photo Competition during a UN Ocean Conference panel on June 11. The spectacular images will be displayed all week at NEO VogelART LAB in Nice and New York’s The Explorer’s Club.

“This World Oceans Day, we celebrate the ocean’s essential wonder from all of the wonders it consists of to the wonder it ignites, and call on decision-makers to not lose sight of the ocean’s wonder when determining its fate,” the UN WOD website said.

UN WOD is co-hosted by the Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea of the Office of Legal Affairs of the UN, along with nonprofit Oceanic Global.

“[T]he day celebrates the wonder that the ocean inspires in us: its beauty, its mystery, and its vital role in our lives and on the planet. This day reminds us of our deep connection with the sea and calls for its protection through decisions guided by curiosity, wisdom, and a commitment to collective well-being,” the press release said.