Oceans: The Biodiversity Blind Spot Finally Taking the Spotlight

If the oceans were a country, it would be the world’s fifth-largest economy.¹ Covering over 70% of the Earth’s surface,² it regulates climate,³ supports the livelihood of over three billion people,⁴ is the planet’s largest carbon sink, and is home to an immense amount of biodiversity.⁵ Yet, when it comes to global action on nature and biodiversity loss, the ocean has largely been overshadowed by a focus on terrestrial ecosystems. That tide, however, is beginning to turn.

A Turning Point for the Ocean 

As the 2025 UN Ocean Conference (UNOC) in Nice came to a close on June 13th, there was a sense of optimism among participants. Progress was made on protecting marine areas, addressing plastic pollution, and advocating for a pause on deep sea mining.⁶

Notably, the world is on the brink of ratifying the High Seas Treaty, which will enable the protection of oceans that lie beyond national jurisdictions. Until now, the high seas—comprising 64% of the ocean’s surface—have lacked comprehensive protection.⁷ The treaty introduces legal tools to establish marine protected areas in these regions, which is a critical step towards meeting the Global Biodiversity Framework target to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030.⁸

The Blue Economy and Finance Forum: A Spotlight on the Private Sector

Held just ahead of UNOC, I participated in the Blue Economy and Finance Forum that showcased the role of finance in supporting a blue economy—one that enables resource use while preserving ocean ecosystems⁹—with financial innovations such as blue bonds and debt-for-nature swaps taking center stage.

Additionally, the World Wide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) recent review of banks’ seafood policies indicates growing expectations around sustainable seafood sourcing, as well as an increase in the issuance of blue-labeled financial products. Of the banks assessed, 38% either disclose blue-labeled products aimed at seafood sector clients, or have included marine conservation and sustainable blue economy activities within their sustainable finance eligibility frameworks.¹⁰ Still, unlocking investment at scale remains a challenge. Stakeholders at the forum stressed the need for de-risking tools and clearer policy signals.

The urgency of ocean protection is clear: ocean-dependent sectors, such as fisheries, aquaculture, tourism, shipping, and coastal infrastructure, hold an estimated USD 24 trillion in asset value.¹¹ Yet, according to WWF and Metabolic, continued ocean degradation puts USD 8.4 trillion at risk.¹² These sectors rely on healthy marine ecosystems for their functioning and profitability, from stable fish stocks to climate regulation and coastal protection. If financial institutions fail to account for ocean-related risk, they may contribute to funding the decline of the natural systems that underpin the global economy.

What This Means for Investors: Ocean Stewardship as Risk Mitigation and Opportunity

Financial institutions have a crucial role to play through capital allocation and engagement. Morningstar Sustainalytics engages 50 companies on biodiversity, including those with significant marine footprints, through the Biodiversity and Natural Capital Stewardship program. One insight from these dialogues stands out. Only a few companies have conducted comprehensive nature-related assessments, and traceability, especially in seafood, remains a major roadblock. For example, only 29% of global seafood is traceability-ready, yet improving traceability could unlock over 60% in profit gains by reducing waste, inefficiencies, and recalls.¹³

The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) provides sector-specific guidance for fisheries¹⁴ and aquaculture,¹⁵ identifying key drivers of nature loss such as overfishing, bycatch, plastic pollution, and unsustainable farmed fish feed. These issues pose risks to companies and their financiers in the form of physical risk from declining fish stocks, and transition risk stemming from public backlash against destructive activities like high bycatch levels and marine bottom trawling.

Sustainalytics’ engagement team supports companies to mitigate these risks and pursue opportunities. From a stewardship standpoint, some suggested actions for affected sectors include:

• Fisheries: Implement traceability systems, adopt sustainable stock management, seek Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification, and use less destructive fishing gear.
• Aquaculture: Disclose and improve fish feed sourcing, enhance feed traceability, seek Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC) certification, and address nutrient runoff and fish escapes.
• Retailers: Strengthen seafood sourcing policies with certification and traceability requirements.
• Banks: Assess seafood clients' portfolios for nature-related risks, set clear seafood policies, and engage clients on improvements.

We also encourage companies to explore the Science Based Targets Network’s (SBTN) Ocean methods,¹⁶ which provide pathways to set targets on overexploitation, habitat, and species protection. TNFD complements this with disclosure metrics tailored to the seafood sector, which is a key input for investors assessing risk and opportunity.

Finally, there’s growing momentum to not only understand the pressures companies exert on the marine environment but also to track the outcomes of their actions to ensure we’re making progress towards halting and reversing biodiversity loss. The Nature Positive Initiative, in partnership with the Ocean Risk and Resilience Action Alliance and the World Economic Forum, is working to develop a consensus on measuring marine nature-positive outcomes.¹⁷

While the focus is often on marine industries, it’s also important to remember that many ocean impacts stem from land-based activities. Ocean-related risk assessments must extend beyond traditional blue economy sectors to reflect a more holistic understanding of ocean impacts across the broader economy.

Next Steps for Investors in a New Ocean Era

There is a clear signal for financial market participants to allocate capital towards blue economy sectors and activities that respect ocean ecosystems. Examples of action include:

• Engaging companies on marine impacts, dependencies, and target-setting.
• Excluding the most harmful activities from investment. For example, Crédit Agricole has pledged not to finance deep sea mining projects.¹⁸
• Defining expectations for investee companies. For example, Standard Chartered states it will only provide financial services to clients that operate in, or source from, fisheries and farms certified by the Marine Stewardship Council, or equivalent certifications, or have implemented a time-bound plan to increase their sourcing from certified fisheries.¹⁹
• Deploying capital in support of the blue economy. For example, Rabobank, along with three other international banks, coordinated and supported a sustainability-linked loan facility to provide EUR 220 million (USD 258 million) for sustainable fishing.²⁰

Oceans are no longer the forgotten frontier. As political momentum builds and investor awareness grows, it is imperative that this energy is carried forward into the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) in Belém, Brazil. Historically, climate and nature have been addressed in siloes, but COP30 presents a key opportunity to integrate nature, including the ocean realm, into the climate agenda.

Addressing ocean health is not a niche issue. It’s a fundamental piece of the planetary puzzle. It’s time to bring it to the center of the financial conversation.