Published 2026-06-08 · data 2024 · percent of ocean area
Seven percent of the ocean is protected
Marine protected areas grew — but most blue water is still open to industrial fishing and shipping.
Paper MPAs inflate the blue — fully protected ocean is far thinner. This grid divides ocean surface (2024 snapshot) into colored bands — Marine protected, Limited protection, and Unprotected ocean — using equal squares so you compare shares, not country size on a map.
1 cell = 0.1 percent of ocean area (0.1% of ocean surface) · 1,000 cells
Context
The 2024 figures from Protected Planet — MPAs put Unprotected ocean at 88% of ocean surface and Marine protected at 8% — about 100 percent of ocean area in this edition's rounding.
MPAtlas / WDPA ~7% ocean in MPAs, rounded.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-06-08-protected-ocean-share