Our ocean, seas and coastal regions are critical to life on Earth, and a rapidly expanding ‘blue economy’ that is estimated to be worth $3–6 trillion per year globally. The cumulative impacts of climate change, development, pollution and overfishing are placing considerable stress on our marine environment. We now know that the trajectory of change and damage threatens the future of our planet and all those that live on it. Achieving sustainability at global, regional and local scales will require a comprehensive understanding of the current and projected state of our ocean, seas and coasts through sustained ocean observing. It will also require monitoring the impact of our policies and management actions.

Society’s need for ocean observation for sustainable development was not fully understood more than 40 years ago when the UN Convention of the Law on the Sea (UNCLOS) was negotiated. Today, there are different requirements: ocean observation is not just for basic scientific research, but is necessary to support Blue Economy industries, inform society about ocean health and inform policy makers on climate change. In addition, the current system is not scalable to support technological advantages with many different types of technologies and vessels now available to expedite the delivery of crucial ocean observation data.

Within the framework of European Union (EU) legislation, there is no one overarching legal instrument that covers the regulation of ocean observing. The legal and policy frameworks surrounding these ocean activities are complex and can be binding or non-binding for the Member States and/or citizens of the EU. This leads to loss of investment in ocean observing efforts and the inefficient use of resources; it also impacts efforts for timely reaction to ocean events and thwarts the ability to take advantage of opportunities for data collection. The result is less observations and thus insufficient information on ocean issues needed to support EU regulations, directives and initiatives, such as The EU Mission “Restore our Ocean and Waters by 2030” and The European Ocean Pact to ensure the health, resilience, and productivity of the oceans and thus the prosperity of the EU’s coastal communities.

UNCLOS is not compatible with the operational reality of observing! Since its adoption in 1982, we now have:

• Broader and more urgent mandate: providing regular information for weather, climate, ocean health and for the blue economy
• New technologies for ocean observation: e.g. vessels of opportunity, drifters, floats, robots and sensors

A possible solution space: The regulation of ocean observation depends on the purpose for which one collects ocean data. The EU ‘may set up joint undertakings or any other structure necessary for the efficient execution of’ research in the EU (TFEU, Art. 187). This could provide a basis for harmonisation of the rules that are applicable to ocean observations, not only between the Member States but also within.

Evolving the implementation of the current UNCLOS regulations is needed to accommodate today’s needs to address societal issues and Blue Economy industry, and to account for improved technical capabilities. The ambitions of The European Ocean Pact could streamline processes and make the EU an exemplar to demonstrate what could be achieved in a global level framework. We suggest that an effort to harmonize and facilitate sustained ocean observing within the EEZs of the EU nations is included in the Ocean Pact.

While the Horizon Europe funded project TRICUSO is focused on research in the Southern Ocean, its objectives to use innovative techniques and technology are being developed in Europe and therefore would benefit from a modified framework as per the above recommendations, as would many research projects and groups, like the German innovation platform SOOP (Shaping an Ocean Of Possibilities for industry-science collaboration), operating on a global scale.