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The ocean covers around 70% of the Earth's surface, produces more than half of the oxygen we breathe, and absorbs vast amounts of carbon dioxide and heat, helping to mitigate the impacts of climate change. It is home to an extraordinary diversity of life, provides food and livelihoods for billions of people, and is an essential ally for the well-being of coastal communities and the planet as a whole.

Yet marine ecosystems are facing increasing pressures. Climate change, plastic pollution, habitat loss, overexploitation of marine resources, and the spread of invasive species are disrupting balances that have developed over millions of years, threatening biodiversity and the ocean’s ability to continue providing its essential functions.

For this reason, World Oceans Day is not only a moment of celebration, but also a call to action: protecting the ocean means safeguarding our future.

This year, we chose to mark the occasion through the eyes of those who observe, study, and document the sea firsthand. Together with our Alliance4Seas partners – Fondation de la Mer and the John Nurminen Foundation – we invited three European photographers and researchers, selecting one contributor from each participating country.

Through their images and personal reflections, Egidio Trainito, Greg Lecoeur, and Mats Westerbom take us on a journey beneath the ocean’s surface, revealing not only its extraordinary beauty but also the changes affecting marine ecosystems today.

Throughout their lives and expeditions, they have witnessed habitats transform, species disappear or shift their ranges, new ecological balances emerge, and long-standing vulnerabilities become increasingly apparent. Their photographs are far more than simple images: they are tools for knowledge, awareness, and storytelling, bringing us closer to a world that often remains invisible to our eyes, yet is essential to our lives.

Read the full interviews with Egidio Trainito, Greg Lecoeur and Mats Westerbom.