Aquaculture/mariculture sites in the region are particularly vulnerable due to intensive sea farming practices, proximity to point and non-point sources of nutrients, and the resulting eutrophic and hypoxic conditions, especially during the monsoon months. Deoxygenation will have a significant impact on aquaculture product availability, as the region accounts for 80% of global aquaculture production.

Furthermore, the region is known for having the world’s highest marine biodiversity, which could be jeopardized if low-oxygen areas were to expand.

Unlike the direct threats of climate change, many of the drivers of deoxygenation can be addressed locally, so there is real potential for new knowledge to drive local action and have an impact.

As a result, there is an urgent need to promote a common concern on marine deoxygenation, and expand oxygen monitoring in the marine environment, particularly in low-oxygen coastal and open-ocean areas, in the WESTPAC region, in order to understand and predict the response of global biogeochemical cycles to deoxygenation, improve future ocean simulations, develop effective management strategies, and mitigate the threat posed by deoxygenation on valuable marine goods and services.