European Commission report on the state of the oceans

The latest, ninth report on the state of the oceans, prepared by the Copernicus Marine Environmental Monitoring Service (Copernicus Marine Service), was released in late September. The report shows that every part of the ocean is now threatened by the effects of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution. The latest research shows that ocean warming is accelerating, marine biodiversity is under increasing threat, and acidification of the waters is progressing faster than in previous years.

What is the significance of the prepared report?

The prepared report provides a comprehensive and up-to-date assessment of the state of the all-ocean, including the seas of the European region, for the scientific, ocean research community, as well as politicians and policy makers.

The annual Copernicus report provides important data on the impact of ocean change on ecosystems, food security, economies, coastal communities and global climate regulation.

In addition, the report is treated as an EU reference report as part of the reporting activities and tasks carried out by EU policy makers, EU environmental agendas, regional maritime conventions, interested decision makers and authorities of member countries, peripheral EU maritime regions and international organizations.

Through the Copernicus system, the Union is stepping up research, providing reliable data to monitor the health of the oceans and support measures that protect biodiversity, reduce pollution and strengthen resilience to climate change.

The report also aims to raise general public awareness of the state of the marine environment and the changes taking place in it.

Report on the state of the oceans – key findings

The results of the State of the Oceans report are an alarming reminder of the urgent challenges of ocean conservation. One of the ongoing efforts to support ocean conservation initiatives is the European Pact for the Oceans, which we wrote about in a previous article.

Key findings of this year’s report include:

• unprecedented warming: in the spring of 2024, the global sea reached a record temperature of 21°C, seriously affecting the Earth’s ecosystem;
• marine heat waves: in 2023 and 2024, ocean temperatures exceeded previous records by more than 0.25°C, affecting ecosystems, fisheries and coastal economies;
• rising seas: sea levels rose by 228 mm between 1901 and 2024, threatening 200 million Europeans living in coastal areas and putting UNESCO World Heritage sites at risk;
• Invasive species: during the 2023 Mediterranean heat wave, warmer waters facilitated the expansion and growth of invasive species such as Atlantic blue crabs and fire-breathing bearded worms, bringing local fisheries to the brink of collapse;
• Falling sea ice: between December 2024 and March 2025, the Arctic Sea ice recorded four consecutive record lows, losing an area almost twice the size of Portugal.

How is the report on the state of the oceans produced?

Copernicus Ocean State Report is an annual publication of Copernicus Marine Service and Mercator Ocean International that provides a global description of the climate and state of the oceans to scientists, policymakers, blue business representatives and the general public. The Copernicus Ocean State Report aims to provide scientifically sound and reliable information based on data from the 1970s to the present. The latest report was produced as part of an international scientific collaboration, with the participation of more than 65 experts. The results are evaluated through an independent expert review process, in cooperation with the scientific journal State of the Planet, and are supported by satellite observations, in situ measurements and state-of-the-art computer modeling.

The European Commission is committed to the continuity and evolution of the Copernicus program, and ensures that the European Earth observation capacity encompasses and brings together all public and private actors and capabilities.

Copernicus marine environmental monitoring service

The Copernicus marine environmental monitoring service is a component of the European Union-run program. It provides free, regular and systematic data on the state of the blue (physical state), white (sea ice state) and green (biogeochemical state) oceans on a global and regional scale. The service is funded by the European Commission and implemented by the Mercator Ocean International institute. Available free of charge, the latest data on the state of the oceans serve to implement EU policies and international legal obligations on ocean governance, respond to public demand for ocean knowledge on a global scale and support the development of all marine blue economy sectors.

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Main photo: cocoparisienne/Pixabay

In the article, I used:

Karina von Schuckmann (Mercator Ocean International, France), Lorena Moreira (Nologin, Spain), Álvaro de Pascual Collar (Nologin, Spain), Marilaure Grégoire (University of Liège, Belgium), Pierre Brasseur (CNRS, France), Gilles Garric (Mercator Ocean International, France), Johannes Karstensen (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, Germany), Piero Lionello (University of Salento, Italy), Marta Marcos (University of the Balearic Islands, Spain), Pierre-Marie Poulain (Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (OGS), Italy), and Joanna Staneva (Helmholtz-Zentrum Hereon, Germany) (Eds.): 9th edition of the Copernicus Ocean State Report (OSR9), Copernicus Publications, State Planet, 6-osr9, https://doi.org/10.5194/sp-6-osr9, 2025