This conference will advance the concerns of the UN Oceans Compact: Healthy Oceans for Prosperity to “build a society that uses ocean resources wisely and is less vulnerable to ocean-related hazards" and "increase cross sectorial coordination and cooperation at the national, regional and global levels." The conference will also address issues relating to European Union "Ocean of Tomorrow" concerns for monitoring the marine environment and human use of the ocean, and the European Commission Maritime Affairs goal of fostering synergies among ocean stakeholders to boost the sustainable development of the European maritime economy. The result of this conference will extend in space and time the capabilities of spatially discrete observatories of the EMSO (European Multidisciplinary Seafloor Observatory), EuroSITES and OceanSITES projects, and coordinate efforts to provide new data for ocean modeling projects such as NEMO (the Nucleus for European Modeling of the Ocean). Results of the conference are also intended to support the World Bank “Global Partnership for the Oceans” to develop “Blue Growth” maritime development by identifying ocean governance reforms and areas for investment in innovative best practices for marine resource management.