IMECaN Co-Chair Dr Shenghui Li and Organising Committee member Dr Mia Strand, are members of the newly formed International Platform for Ocean Sustainability (IPOS) Knowledge Committee. 

IPOS aims to be a global demand-driven platform linking Ocean knowledge, policy and society, and operating at national and regional scales to help States and groups of States to accelerate the fulfillment of their international Ocean commitments. It will offer demand-driven, tailored services to deliver actionable knowledge and policy options that are responsive to the timelines of decision-makers. IPOS aims to integrate and enhance the best available science, knowledge and expertise from a wide array of reliable sources.

The Knowledge Committee is responsible for balancing scientific rigor with diverse perspectives to support equitable, actionable decision-making for ocean sustainability. Read more here. 

Interesting Reading

Andrachuk et al., 2025. Guidebook for Assessing and Improving Social Equity in Marine Conservation. IUCN. 

This guidebook offers a comprehensive framework for integrating social equity into marine conservation initiatives, emphasizing fairness and justice across six key dimensions: recognitional, procedural, management, environmental, distributional, and contextual & structural equity.

Due to the diversity of contexts, situations and needs of marine conservation initiatives around the world, we offer three options for assessing equity, that can be adapted depending on the levels of resources, expertise, time and collaboration:

(1) Rapid Equity Assessment

(2) Stakeholders and Rightsholders Equity Assessment

(3) Co-produced and Customised Equity Assessment.

Read the full guidebook here. 

Other Reads

Baron-Aguilar et al. 2025. Co-producing ocean plans with Indigenous and traditional knowledge holders. Npj Ocean Sustainability. Access here. 

Buitendijk et al., 2026. A goal-based typology of socio-governance processes in the management of marine protected areas. Ocean and Coastal Management. Access here

DelBene et al., 2025. Conceptualizing and measuring socio-cultural values in marine and coastal environments: progress and research needs from a systematic map. Ecosystems and People. Access here.  

Krause et al., 2025. The Local Turn in a Global Sea: Identifying Sustainability Trade-Offs in Regionalized Marine Aquaculture Systems. Reviews in Aquaculture. Access here.

Perez Agundez et al., 2025. Strengthening policy action to tackle social acceptability issues in European aquaculture. ICES Journal of Marine Science. Access here.

Shellock et al. 2025. Social Accounts for the ocean: A path to inclusive and equitable ocean decision-making. Environmental Science and Policy. Access here.

Voski et al., 2025. Underwater virtual reality for awe, ocean connectedness, and pro‑environmental behavior: a randomized controlled trial. Sustainability Science. Access here.

Upcoming Events (conferences, workshops, and symposiums)

• Ocean and Coastal Futures - 28th and 29th January 2026 - London - Early bird tickets and programme released. More information here

• AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting - Glasgow, Scotland - 22-27 February 2026 - Call for abstracts coming soon - More information here



• Townhall session: TH43A – Broadening the Ocean Science Workforce. AGU OSM 2026 Session: link here.. The Challenger Society for Marine Science, alongside The Oceanography Society JEDI program and the Interdisciplinary Marine Early Career Network is hosting a town hall focused on strengthening diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in ocean science. This session aims to support and elevate underrepresented ocean professionals and build a more equitable and engaged scientific community.

• SAVE THE DATE: Oceans Past XI - Ocean-connected communities: Historical perspectives inform modern relationships.15 – 19 June 2026, University of Victoria. More information is coming soon!

• POLLEN2026. Submit abstracts for the Political Ecology Network Conference panel “Exploring the politics and power relations of engaging with diverse knowledges in nature conservation”. 29 June – 3 July 2026 | Barcelona, Spain. Learn more here and submit by 5 December 2025.

• SAVE THE DATE: International Marine Conservation Congress (IMCC) in Edinburgh Scotland 13-17 November 2026.

• CALL FOR ABSTRACTS: The World Conference On Marine Biodiversity 2026 Is Inviting Submissions For Oral Presentations And Posters! Hosted by the Flanders Marine Institute (VLIZ) Marine Institute (VLIZ), this 7th edition will take place in Bruges, Belgium, from 17 to 20 November 2026. It will bring together the global ocean community under the theme "The marine biodiversity insights we need for the ocean we want." Abstract submission deadline: 17 March 2026. Find more information here.

• Indian Ocean Session at EGU26 - OS1.10 Understanding the Indian Ocean's past, present, and future. Submit an abstract by 1 December 2025, 13:00 CET. Find more here. 

• SAVE THE DATE: Dates for UN Ocean Decade Conference 2027 in Rio De Janeiro released! The conference will take place 7-9 April 2027. 

Job and career development opportunities

• Nautilus Science & Engineering Internship Program. Apply by January 4th here.
• Ocean & Society special issue on Empowerment and Blue Justice in Coastal Communities. 
• 12 PhD positions with the EMERGE Alaska program at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. Check for more information here.
• 9 PhD contracts to work on the BRIDGES project in the Western Indian Ocean. Click link.
• Multiple PhD and PDF positions available at Dalhousie University PhD and PDF positions available at Dalhousie University - Ocean Carbon Climate Processes in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Open until filled
• The University of Cape Town Marine Biogeochemistry Laboratory MBL is recruiting multiple fully funded PhD students to work on marine organic aerosols and ocean–atmosphere nitrogen cycling, linked to the Schmidt Sciences OBVI project (WAM) and an NRF-funded project on coastal aerosol–biogeochemistry drivers. Projects will be tailored to student experience and interests. A MSc (or equivalent) is required. International applicants are welcome. To apply, email: katye.altieri@uct.ac.za with a CV and a one-page statement of interest. Applications remain open until filled.
• Postdoc & PhD positions in the Luo Lab at University of North Carolina, Charlotte. Check out details here.
• The Gerson Lab (Biological & Environmental Engineering, Cornell University) is recruiting a PhD student to begin in Fall 2026. Research spans biogeochemistry and aquatic ecology. Interested applicants should first review the lab website here , then email Dr. Jacqueline Gerson (jacqueline.gerson@cornell.edu) with a CV, unofficial transcript, contact information for three references, and brief statements on (1) research experience/skills, (2) research interests, and (3) motivation to join the lab. Application deadline: early December 2025; initial email contact required before applying.
• The Villaseñor-Derbez Lab is recruiting two PhD students (Fall 2026) in Environmental Science & Policy. Applicants must contact Dr. Villaseñor-Derbez before applying and submit a CV and 1-page statement. Application deadline: December 1, 2025. Check here.
• 2 fully funded PhD studentship to work on projects using phytoplankton image data to explore patterns in biodiversity, both based at National Oceanography Centre in Southampton, UK: link.
• Researchers/Senior Researchers in Arctic Ecology and Environmental Social Science at The Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) - Deadline December 8th - More information here.
• PhD Opportunity - Stories from the shore: employing oral histories for just decision making in estuarine flood and coastal risk management. Supervised by Dr Sien van der Plank, Dr Juliet de Little and Prof Eli Lazarus. This project examines how place-specific knowledge can be embedded in estuarine flood and coastal risk management, to support just decision making. More information here.

For more jobs and career development opportunities consider visiting Ocean Oculus (Ocean Opportunities), and Ocean Blue Jobs, or subscribing to the EuroMarine OYSTER newsletter.

Share job opportunities with us by sending an e-mail to imber@ecnu.edu.cn.



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