The Ocean We Want international survey project: Season Two.

As part of the UNDOS program “SmartNet” led by ICES and PICES, an international study to understand “the Ocean We Want” was initiated in 2021 with the support of the University of Tokyo and the French Ocean and Climate Priority Research Program. The objective of this study is to conduct surveys in multiple countries to identify the opinions of the general public on specific elements related to seven UNDOS Societal Outcomes and priorities for action. 
In the first phase of the study, we conducted pilot surveys in four countries: Australia, France, Japan, and the USA (n=1000 in each country). Analysis of the results suggests a number of factors such as frequency of fish consumption, recreational experience in the sea, gender, age, industrial structure of each country, history of natural disasters, etc., relate to the level of concerns and priorities regarding ocean issues and UNDOS Societal Outcomes. The study revealed the mechanisms by which the values held by people in each country shape their concerns, sense of responsibility, and priorities regarding ocean issues. These results are presented in two manuscripts under-review . To share these results, we organized a satellite event “What is the Ocean We Want?” at the 2024 Barcelona Conference, which featured the IOC-UNESCO Chair, the ICES General Secretary, leading scientists from PICES and ICES, and representatives from Small Island States and ECOPs who participated in a panel discussion (https://makinolab.aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp/en/owwproject/). In the second phase, in order to expand the ecological, social and economic diversity of surveyed countries, we have extended the scope of our study to include Indonesia, South Africa, Chile, and Germany. 
At the 2025 One Ocean Science Congress, we will present the results from the second phase of the survey, with a specific focus on the priorities for future action highlighted by respondents. We will also suggest paths to achieve effective outreach to the public about ocean issues in the surveyed countries, given the observed commonalities in opinions, as well as the demographic, behavioral, value and opinion-based variables that explain differences among them.
We will also use the opportunity of the One Ocean Science Congress to promote conducting the survey with ocean researchers and policy makers, in order to identify their respective views and compare these to those of the general public. Our aim is also to expand the survey in future phases, to get more global coverage, by adding a greater diversity of countries around the world. This will help ICES, PICES, and the IOC design international marine science collaboration and communication strategies, as well as developing indicators to assess the progress and impact of UNDOS to the world. Indeed, we propose that this survey be used as a tool for the long-term monitoring of perceptions by people of our sustainable relationships with the ocean.