I decided to set up a Foundation whose purpose is to protect the environment and to encourage sustainable development (...). By definition, this is a common global challenge that requires urgent and concrete action in response to three major environmental issues: climate change, biodiversity and water.

H.S.H. Prince Albert II of Monaco

"The sea, the source of life, is our past, our present and our future. However,the sea is not inexhaustible. To better protect it, it is necessary to know it better."

"The oceans host an enormous diversity of life with astonishing adaptations to physical, chemical and biological extremes - providing knowledge about this diversity is an essential contribution of oceanography to society."

"Ocean's fragile and strange universe is getting damaged by mankind ; as we are discovering its many resources we must also act quickly to protect them"

"Perverse subsidies are putting global fisheries at risk. Together, we must end government-sponsored and government-sanctioned overfishing. Let science lead the way."

"The oceans are the future of mankind. How we can protect this threatened vastness today is the vital challenge of the 21st Century."

"Ocean governance founded on sound knowledge protects the integrity of ecosystems and biodiversity, sustaining the many services provided by the ocean, on which human beings depend."

"We stand at a crossroads in regard to our relationship with the sea. One road leads further down the path we are now on, in which we continue to plunder the world's oceans. The other requires restraint and a balanced approach to what we take from the sea with what it can sustain over time. Our job is to ensure the path we choose is the right one, for people and the sea."

"The ocean holds many dreams and hopes for our future generations ; the destiny of the next civilizations will emerge from its depths"

"Ocean collapse is the most serious global conservation problem that we can rapidly fix. Science-based quotas, habitat protections, bycatch controls and reduced commercial fishing subsidies will enhance marine abundance."

"The ocean is the origin of life on Earth and the engine that powers human survival. Its integrity, and therefore our existence, are at stake. Now is the time to secure a new future for the ocean."