In 2026, the global ocean community is continuing to shift from planning to action, as the world races to meet the ambitious 2030 goals set out in the UN Ocean Decade. Facilitating these efforts, dozens of events in 2026 will gather leading ocean experts, funders, practitioners, and decision-makers to shape the future of a sustainable ocean.
To catalogue some of the most salient events, Our Shared Seas (OSS) is returning with our “Blue Wave of Ocean Action” series to highlight the most impactful events of the year, handpicked by our team. Once again, the calendar is replete with enough events that OSS is releasing our events guide in two parts this year. This edition will cover all events from January through June.
Multiple high-profile conferences and landmarks have already occurred at the time of publishing, and others are still on the horizon. So, this year, we will analyze the topline impacts of events that have already happened in 2026 and provide summaries of future events. The entries in this guide are a mix of open conferences, closed-door policymaking sessions, invite-only gatherings, and global landmarks. Dive in for detailed descriptions of these top-line ocean events! For a more complete list of ocean-related events happening in 2026, please visit our Events page.
2026 Guide to Key Ocean Events
This document identifies important, high-profile, and high-impact events for the coming year in the ocean sustainability space. Dive in to learn more about where and when key policy decisions and solutions developments will be happening.