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Currently, there are several international organizations working towards aspects of our goal to save the oceans. The UN has employed several research and management groups and set out governance of the oceans by the Law of the Sea and subsequent agreements and annexes. Other organizations for protection of the oceans fall under Regional Fishery Bodies (RFBs), also known as Regional Fishery Management Councils.
Current International Legislation
The Law of the Sea is a complex and comprehensive document that, when put into action after the Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1982, formalized traditional maritime law, as well as outlined conduct of nations as it relates to boundaries, deep seabed mining, passage through territorial zones, settlement of international disputes, and marine research, among other topics. The Law of the Sea Treaty "marked the culmination of more than 14 years of work involving participation by more than 150 countries representing all regions of the world, all legal and political systems and the spectrum of socio/economic development" (Oceans and LOS, 2007).
UN Organizations
The UN has several branches to conduct research, compose law, enforce treaties, and settle disputes regarding the Law of the Sea and subsequent treaties relating to the governance of the oceans, coasts, and marine life.
UN-OCEANS encompasses most UN operations relating to the oceans. After the UN Conference on Environment and Development in 1992, Agenda 21 - "an international programme of action for global sustainable development for the 21st century" - was adopted (UN-OCEANS, 2005). Chapter 17 of Agenda 21 calls for protection of the oceans, resulting in the formation of the Sub-committee on Oceans and Coastal Areas of the Administrative Committee on Coordination (ACC SOCA) in 1993. Due to the extensive number of agencies and committees already addressing the issue of the oceans and the need for a "new inter-agency coordinating mechanism," in September 2003, "the United Nations High-Level Committee on Programmes approved the creation of an Oceans and Coastal Areas Network (subsequently named 'UN-Oceans') to build on SOCA" (UN-OCEANS, 2005). As stated by their webpage, UN-OCEANS has been established to:
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UN-OCEANS is a site that presents the history, mission, and partners of the UN-OCEANS program
(http://www.oceansatlas.org/www.un-oceans.org/About.htm#Participation).
Oceans and Law of the Sea: Division for Ocean Affairs and Law of the Sea. (23 October 2007). United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982. Retrieved 12 November 2007, from the World Wide Web: http://www.un.org/Depts/los/convention_agreements/convention_overview_convention.htm
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^^I got this citation method from the Cornell Library on what to do when citing an entire website.