The UN Ocean Conference tries to turn promises into protection

NICE, France (AP) — The third U.N. Ocean Conference opened Monday as pressure mounts for nations to turn decades of promises into real protection for the sea.

“The fight for the ocean is at the heart of the yearslong battles we’ve been waging — for biodiversity, for climate, for our environment and for our health,” said French President Emmanuel Macron, delivering the keynote address.

Just 2.7% of the ocean is effectively protected from destructive extractive activities, according to the nonprofit Marine Conservation Institute. That's far below the target agreed under the “30x30” pledge to conserve 30% of land and sea by 2030.

Ratification of the High Seas Treaty tops the agenda. Adopted in 2023, the treaty would for the first time allow nations to establish marine protected areas in international waters, which cover nearly two-thirds of the ocean and are largely ungoverned.

“It’s the Wild West out there with countries just fishing anywhere without any sort of regulation, and that needs to change,” said Mauro Randone, regional projects manager at the World Wildlife Fund’s Mediterranean Marine Initiative. “The high seas belong to everyone and no one practically at the same time, and countries are finally committing to establish some rules.”

The ocean is critical in stabilizing Earth’s climate and sustaining life. It generates 50% of the oxygen we breathe, absorbs around 30% of carbon dioxide emissions and captures more than 90% of the excess heat caused by those emissions.

Without a healthy ocean, experts warn, climate goals will remain out of reach.

The treaty will come into force once 60 countries ratify it. As of Monday, at least 49 countries had. Advocates hope the conference can build enough momentum to cross the threshold, which would allow for the first official Oceans Conference of Parties.

“Two-thirds of the ocean is areas beyond national jurisdiction — that’s half our planet,” said Minna Epps, director of global ocean policy at the International Union for Conservation of Nature. “We cannot possibly protect 30% of the ocean if it doesn’t include the high seas.”

South Korea, France and the European Union have championed the treaty, but most large ocean nations have yet to ratify it, including the rest of the G20.

Thousands of conference attendees are expected, including heads of state, scientists and industry leaders. The United States has confirmed it isn't sending a formal delegation, just observers.

The conference highlights the growing gap between marine protection declarations and real-world conservation.

France, the conference co-host, claims to have surpassed the 30% target for marine protection. But environmental groups say only 3% of French waters are fully protected from harmful activities like bottom trawling and industrial fishing.

In 2024, more than 100 bottom-trawling vessels were recorded spending over 17,000 hours fishing within France’s six marine nature parks, according to ocean advocacy group Oceana.

“The government declares these as protected areas, but this is a lie,” said Enric Sala, founder of National Geographic Pristine Seas marine reserve project. “Most of it is political box-ticking. It’s all paper parks.”

That criticism is echoed across the continent. A new World Wildlife Fund report found that although more than 11% of Europe’s marine area is designated for protection, just 2% of EU waters have management plans in place.

Fabien Boileau, director of marine protected areas at France’s Office for Biodiversity, acknowledged the presence of bottom trawling in French protected areas, but said it was part of a phased strategy.

“In France, we made the choice to designate large marine protected areas with relatively low levels of regulation at first, betting that stronger protections would be developed over time through local governance,” he said. “Today, we’re gradually increasing the number of zones with stricter protections within those areas.”

Other marine protected areas show what real protection can achieve. Off southern France, Port-Cros National Park is one of the oldest marine reserves in the Mediterranean. Strict anchoring bans have allowed vast seagrass meadows to grow undisturbed. Massive groupers patrol rocky outcrops, brightly colored nudibranchs munch on algae and schools of large corbs glide through the shallows, undisturbed by fishing lines.

“Thanks to the protections that have been in place since 1963, we can observe species that are much larger than elsewhere in the Mediterranean and at a much higher density than in other areas," said Hubert Flavigny, manager of Mio Palmo dive center in Hyeres, France.

Still, such examples remain exceptions.

Advocates say industrial fishing lobbies continue to resist stricter protections, despite evidence that well-managed reserves boost long-term fisheries through the “spillover effect,” whereby marine life flourishes in nearby waters.

“Protection is not the problem — overfishing is the problem,” said Sala. “The worst enemy of the fishing industry is themselves.”

Frustrated by government inaction, environmental groups have taken enforcement into their own hands. In May, Greenpeace dropped 15 limestone boulders into France’s Golfe du Lion, aiming to physically block bottom trawling in a marine area that has long been designated for protection. The protected zone was established in 2008 to preserve deep-sea ecosystems, yet 12 trawlers continue to operate there, despite scientific warnings of ecological collapse, according to activist group MedReAct.

The Golfe is now one of the most overfished areas in the Mediterranean.

The conference will feature 10 panels on topics such as blue finance, sustainable fisheries and plastic pollution. Deep sea mining is expected to feature in broader discussions, while small island states are likely to use the platform to advocate for increased climate adaptation funding.

The outcome of these discussions will form the basis of the Nice Ocean Action Plan — a declaration of voluntary commitments to be adopted by consensus and presented at the United Nations in July.

Follow Annika Hammerschlag on Instagram @ahammergram.

Associated Press writer Matthew Daly in Washington contributed to this report.

The Associated Press receives support from the Walton Family Foundation for coverage of water and environmental policy. The AP is solely responsible for all content. For all of AP’s environmental coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

Yellow cluster anemone is visible in the protected area of France's Porquerolles National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Fish swim in the protected area of France's Port-Cros National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025, (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Coral is visible in the protected area of France's Porquerolles National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

A wandering cratena, or nudibranch, is visible in the protected area of France's Porquerolles National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Friday, June 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

A rainbow wrasse swims in the protected area of France's Port-Cros National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025, (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

A grouper swims in the protected area of France's Port-Cros National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025, (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Anemone is visible in the protected area of France's Port-Cros National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025, (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Saupe fish swim in the protected area of France's Port-Cros National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025, (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People enjoy the beach as vessels sail during the "Ocean Wonders" themed event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

People swim as vessels sail during the "Ocean Wonders" themed event in honor of World Oceans Day ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference on Sunday, June 8, 2025, in Nice, France. (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

Mountains are reflected in the waters of France's Port-Cros National Park ahead of the U.N. Ocean Conference, Saturday, June 7, 2025, (AP Photo/Annika Hammerschlag)

SYDNEY (AP) — In the first full day of opening since a mass shooting driven by antisemitism killed 15 people at Australia's famed Bondi Beach on Sunday, thousands of people returned to the waterfront Friday to commemorate the losses and try to heal through a sense of community.

In a hastily organized event, people gathered shoulder to shoulder on Bondi’s pristine crescent of sand and then formed an enormous circle in the ocean in an expression of solidarity among Sydney’s residents and support for the Jewish community.

Police reopened parts of the beach Thursday, sparking a return to one of the country's beloved landmarks five days after two shooters attacked a Hanukkah celebration at a park near the shore, killing 15 people.

With questions emerging about whether Australian Jews were sufficiently protected from the threat of attack, and fears of a backlash against Muslims, armed police officers stood guard outside synagogues and mosques in Sydney on Friday.

Strangers embraced and wept during the morning commemoration. Some people stood in prayer near fluttering remains of crime scene tape and the shoes abandoned as people fled the horror of the shooting. Those who joined the circle in the ocean observed a minute’s silence for the dead, the wounded and those who rushed into danger to save them.

Life also began returning to normal on the sand and boardwalk, where people jogged, walked dogs and sipped coffee in the hum of everyday life at Bondi Beach.

In a country where mass shootings are rare and most people pride themselves on an ability to get along, Australians have been stricken and bewildered by the attack. Many looked to cope as they always have, by rising at dawn, donning swimsuits, grabbing surfboards and making their way to the beach.

Some of the beachgoers expressed a fervent wish that Australia’s relaxed and friendly way of life would continue undisturbed.

“I’ve grown up here my whole life,” 22-year-old swimmer Jack Hobbs said. “Today was a reminder of the amazing people where we live and what this community’s built on.”

In the days after the attack, Australians have celebrated those who helped in the aftermath or threw themselves into harm's way to save lives. In a land repeatedly tested by wildfires, floods and other natural disasters, resilience is forged through pulling together in tough times.

Many have embraced the stories of heroism that emerged after the shooting.

Ahmed al Ahmed, an Australian Muslim store owner who was born in Syria, tackled and disarmed one of the two gunmen before he was shot and wounded by the other.

“It was a nice day, everyone enjoying celebrating with their kids,” al Ahmed said from his hospital bed in a video posted to social media Friday. “They deserve to enjoy and it's their right.”

His message was “to stand together, all human beings,” he said.

Australia is “the best country in the world,” al Ahmed said. He raised a fist and, in a faint voice, pronounced a phrase engendering national pride among Australians everywhere: “Aussie, Aussie, Aussie.”

Al Ahmed's remarks reflected a national mood of solidarity, which included a menorah beamed onto the sails of Sydney's famous opera house and the city's residents queueing for hours to donate blood. In a national record, nearly 35,000 donations were made and more than 100,000 appointments booked since Monday, according to Lifeblood, a branch of the Australian Red Cross.

Through their grief, the families of three Jewish people who died trying to stop the slaughter, Reuven Morrison and Boris and Sofia Gurman, also celebrated their courage.

But a fraught debate has grown in Australia about how to quell the hateful ideologies that apparently drove Sunday's shooting, while Jewish leaders spoke of their grief and rage that the horror had been able to unfold.

“There have been various leaders present here from various parts of the spectrum, trying to kind of groom political capital,” Andrew Stephen said, standing at the beach close to what has become a makeshift memorial of bouquets.

“But these community gatherings have been really good,” said Stephen, 53, who has lived at Bondi for more than 20 years. “People are wanting to connect.”

On Saturday, Bondi Beach's lifeguards will return six days after members of their service became first responders by running toward the gunfire barefoot and clutching first aid kits.

As the familiar sight of their red and yellow flags are planted in the sand to direct beachgoers where to swim, another marker of life at Australia's most famous beach will return.

Smith reported from Newcastle, Australia.

FILE - Surfers and swimmers walk along the promenade at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Markham, File)

FILE - Surfers and swimmers leave the water after a tribute following last Sunday's shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Markham,File)

FILE - Surfers and swimmers leave the water after a tribute following last Sunday's shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Markham,File)

Surfers and swimmers head out to the ocean as a tribute following Sunday's shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Markham)

FILE - Surfers and swimmers head out to the ocean as a tribute following Sunday's shooting at Bondi Beach, in Sydney, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Steve Markham,File)