Stanford at the 2025 U.N. Ocean Conference
The third United Nations Ocean Conference, co-hosted by the governments of France and Costa Rica, took place from June 9 – 13, 2025 in Nice. As the official United Nations venue for convening ocean leaders, the event brought together non-governmental organizations, universities, entrepreneurs, and delegates from Member States to deliver on the targets for Sustainable Development Goal 14, which aims to conserve and sustainably use the ocean.
The Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions contributed to events on sustainable blue foods, oceans and human health, women in ocean science, and data systems in small-scale fisheries. The Center co-hosted several in-person events with the Aquatic Blue Food Coalition, an action group it co-founded to champion blue foods at international fora. Through the Center's role as Secretariat for the Blue Food Futures Program, it also convened blue food scholars to discuss shared research and policy priorities in the year ahead.
Center attendees included Co-directors Jim Leape and Fiorenza Micheli and Engagement Project Manager Laura Anderson. Other Stanford attendees included Daviana Berkowitz-Sklar and Sydney Hampton, who are doctoral students in the Oceans Department, and Nicolas Lama, who is a joint JD/MS student at Stanford Law School and the Doerr School of Sustainability. Nicole Franz, a Center research scholar, and Xavier Basurto, a professor of environmental social sciences in the Doerr School of Sustainability, attended the One Ocean Science Congress one week before, a U.N. Special Event which serves as a scientific foundation for the U.N. Ocean Conference. View select events below and explore how the Center's research contributed to this year’s conference program.
Conference highlights
Illuminating hidden harvests
Research Scholar Nicole Franz presented small-scale fisheries research at the One Ocean Science Congress prior to the conference.
Oceans and human health
Co-director Fiorenza Micheli joined a side event to highlight how ocean sustainability efforts have had a positive impact on human health and well-being.
Blue food futures
The Blue Food Futures team met on June 10 to align blue food priorities across UN conferences on the ocean, food, and climate, and again on June 12 for a partner meeting.
Blue foods on the table
The Aquatic Blue Food Coalition hosted a side event on advancing blue foods for sustainability, food security, and livelihoods.
Women make waves
Co-director Fiorenza Micheli discussed the role of female scientists in advancing ecosystem and social science, neuroscience, Indigenous knowledge, and policy.
Ocean solutions in action
Blue Food Futures Program Manager Josheena Naggea, JD/MS student Nicolas Lama, and Oceans PhD student Daviana Sklar-Berkowtiz joined a panel about early career ocean professionals in science and policy.
Related research
Small-scale fisheries
The Illuminating Hidden Harvests initiative, co-led by Research Scholar Nicole Franz, works to gather data to show how small-scale fisheries support hundreds of millions of people across the globe. Research featured in Nature Portfolio journals presents some of the findings.
Women in the seafood sector
A series of country factsheets co-developed by Lead Scientist Colette Wabnitz with stakeholders around the world highlight women’s contributions to the fisheries and aquaculture sectors.
Blue foods and climate action
Collaborative guidelines share opportunities for governments to leverage fisheries and aquaculture for climate action – and how some countries are already doing so.
