Table 1 The main challenges for the achievement of SDG14

Ocean Pollution

Pollution from various sources, including plastic waste, industrial discharges, and agricultural runoff, poses a significant threat to marine ecosystems, harming marine life, disrupting ecosystems, and affecting human health [21].

Climate Change Impacts

Climate change is leading to rising sea levels, ocean acidification, and altered oceanic currents. These changes affect marine ecosystems and the communities that rely on them [22].

Global Cooperation

There are insufficient global governance frameworks and cooperation to address transboundary issues. Conflicts over maritime boundaries and resources, or unequal rights, hinder progress [20].

Lack of coordinated management

Effective and coordinated management of marine resources across different sectors (e.g., fisheries, shipping, tourism) is often lacking, and there is often a competition of users to generate benefits from marine ecosystems [23].

Overfishing and Depleting Fish Stocks

Many regions are experiencing unsustainable fishing practices, which threaten fish stocks’ viability, marine ecosystems, and the livelihoods of coastal communities [24].

Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing

IUU fishing remains a major problem, as it undermines efforts to conserve marine resources and enforce regulations. It leads to unfair competition, environmental degradation, and economic losses [24].

Coral Reef Decline

Coral reefs, which are critical for marine biodiversity, are under threat from rising sea temperatures, ocean acidification, and physical damage from human activities. Protecting and restoring coral reefs is a pressing challenge [17].

Biodiversity Collapse

The loss of marine biodiversity due to habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change is a grave concern [25].

Inadequate Data and Monitoring

Gathering comprehensive data on the state of the oceans and the impact of policies and actions is challenging, and there is very limited progress on this along several environmental SDGs, making accurate progress-tracking challenging [26].

Resource Constraints

Many coastal and developing countries lack the financial and technical resources to implement sustainable ocean management practices effectively [27].

Community-management understanding

There is limited understanding of community-based marine management approaches, as they are under-studied. Successful examples are difficult to generalize, as they are subject to local-specific and cultural factors [15, 28].