In the context of climate change, the natural and political stability of the polar regions requires urgent attention and response from the international community; at the same time, scientific research continues to “escort” the construction of marine protected areas.

In this issue, we focus on the unsatisfactory outcome of the first part of the recently concluded 27th session of the International Seabed Authority in the News part, while the Academics part proposes ways to optimise the current start-up criteria for marine mining in terms of effective environmental management. The seabed is a rich source of resources for mankind, but too much casual exploitation opens Pandora’s Box.

This issue continues to focus on polar changes and fisheries, while it closely follows the Fourth Intergovernmental Negotiating Meeting on the United Nations Agreement on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biodiversity in Marine Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction in New York, the results of which are summarised in the newsletter section and hopes for a bright future for high seas conservation.

In this issue, we continue following the climate change problems. We human’s activities are closely related to the ocean, but the way they are currently being used is unsustainable and we urgently need to change. Many of the articles in this issue address the rapid demise of polar glaciers. 27 February is International Polar Bear Day, and if glacier demise continues unabated, polar bears may disappear by the end of the century.

The first edition of the New Year’s Ocean Alert is freshly released, and the focus of this issue remains on marine protected areas and climate, and in terms of protected areas, the recent “One Ocean” summit has just concluded, and the last negotiations will take place in early March, which may be a big step towards marine protected areas.

This issue looks at the Southern Ocean and marine protected areas. In the Perspectives section of this issue, there is research that demonstrates that well-constructed marine protected areas can increase fish catches on a current basis, and the Academics section provides a detailed analysis of Norway’s position and role in marine protected areas in the Southern Ocean from a policy perspective. Marine protected areas can undoubtedly enhance the protection of the oceans and will be strongly promoted in the future, so it is important that research into the role of marine protected areas and the development of policy is undertaken now.