Oceanography | Vol. 38, No. 1
foster innovation (Sowah et al.). Others
call for transdisciplinary studies to build
capacity for addressing changing ocean
systems (Renaud et al.).
Some capacity sharing programs focus
on early career training in data manage-
ment (Beaulieu et al.), promoting liter-
acy in artifcial intelligence (Satterthwaite
and Robbins), and using volunteers
who have local knowledge and the nec-
essary skills to contribute to projects
(Gelpi et al.). Tere are also programs that
target early career scientists from Small
Island Developing States (Chiba et al.)
or that focus on youth engagement for
sustainable small-scale fsheries such
as Too Big to Ignore and Coast 2 Coast.
Tese two programs focus on relation-
ship building, shared responsibility, and
inclusive engagement to shape meaning-
ful change (Koch and Chuenpagdee).
Other capacity sharing projects, such
as Backyard Buoys, leverage low-cost,
scalable marine technology in partner-
ship with regional ocean observing net-
works to enable Indigenous and coastal
communities to gather and use wave
data (Newton et al. a). For more than
20 years, the Discovery of Sound in
the Sea Project has provided education
and outreach opportunities focused on
underwater sound; it is currently collab-
orating with other capacity sharing pro-
grams to develop low-cost sensors that
would enable scientists to character-
ize underwater acoustic environments
(Vigness-Raposa et al.). Te Global
Ocean Acidifcation Observing Network
developed GOA-ON in a Box, a kit
that provides under-resourced scientists
everything they need to obtain weather-
quality carbon system measurements.
To date, researchers in 23 countries have
received these kits and thus have been
able to contribute to monitoring carbon-
ate chemistry conditions related to ocean
acidifcation (Valauri-Orton et al. b).
Some capacity sharing programs
focus on specifc science or sustainabil-
ity goals, such as the Global Ocean Acid-
ifcation Observing Network (Newton
et al. b), the Global Mangrove Alliance
(Veverka et al.), and the Marine Bio-
diversity Observation Network Pole to
Pole (Moity et al.). Others focus on orga-
nizing regional capacity sharing, such as
the proposed All-Atlantic Training Plat-
form (Ekau et al.). Still others, such as the
International Atomic Energy Agency’s
Technical Cooperation Programme sup-
port capacity sharing eforts on a variety
of topics, including ocean acidifcation,
marine toxins, and various contaminants
in marine ecosystems (Metian et al.;
Dupont et al.).
In a fnal spotlight, Guilhon et al. share
their ideas on how to measure the success
of capacity sharing eforts beyond the tra-
ditional quantitative metrics of number
of attendees, publications produced, and
workshops held.
A LOOK TO THE FUTURE
Where should capacity sharing pro-
grams go from here? We asked authors
to include in their articles their thoughts
about the future of their capacity sharing
work, considering the knowledge gained
by running programs and the feedback
they have received from participants.
Among the suggested improvements are
sharing announcements in multiple lan-
guages, running hybrid online/in-person
events and changing event venue loca-
tions to be more inclusive of and aford-
able for scientists from lesser-resourced
countries, publishing plans for building
low-cost instruments, leveraging existing
infrastructure to increase global capac-
ity, extending interdisciplinary collabo-
ration, and engaging early career scien-
tists in all capacity sharing eforts. Stable,
long-term funding for programs is key to
achieving these goals.
REFERENCES
Bax, N.J., W. Appeltans, R. Brainard, J.E. Dufy,
P. Dunstan, Q. Hanich, H. Harden-Davies, J. Hills,
P. Miloslavich, F.E. Muller-Karger, and others. 2018.
Linking capacity development to GOOS monitoring
networks to achieve sustained ocean observation.
Frontiers in Marine Science 5:346, https://doi.org/
10.3389/fmars.2018.00346.
Harden-Davies, H., D.J. Amon, M. Vierros, N.J. Bax,
Q. Hanich, J.M. Hills, M. Guilhon, K.A. McQuaid,
E. Mohammed, A. Pouponneau, and others. 2022.
Capacity development in the Ocean Decade
and beyond: Key questions about meanings,
motivations, pathways, and measurements.
Earth System Governance 12:100138, https://doi.
org/10.1016/ j.esg.2022.100138.
Miloslavich, P., R. Zitoun, E.R. Urban Jr.,
F. Muller-Karger, N.J. Bax, B.K. Arbic,
A. Lara-López, C. Delgado, M. Metian, S. Seeyave,
P.W. Swarzenski, J. Uku, and A. Valauri-Orton.
2022. Developing capacity for ocean science
and technology. Pp. 467–504 in Blue Economy:
An Ocean Science Perspective. E.R. Urban Jr.
and V. Ittekkot, eds, Springer, https://doi.org/
10.1007/978-981-19-5065-0_15.
NRC (National Research Council). 2008. Increasing
Capacity for Stewardship of Oceans and Coasts:
A Priority for the 21st Century. The National
Academies Press, Washington, DC, https://doi.org/
10.17226/12043.
AUTHORS
OCEANOGRAPHY EDITOR. Ellen S. Kappel
(ekappel@geo-prose.com), Geosciences Professional
Services Inc., Bethesda, MD, USA. GUEST EDITORS
AND COAUTHORS. Brian K. Arbic, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. Johanna Diwa-Acallar,
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of
UNESCO, Ostend, Belgium. Nicolas Moity, Charles
Darwin Foundation for the Galápagos Islands,
Santa Cruz, Galápagos, Ecuador, and University of
New Hampshire, Durham, NH, USA. José Muelbert,
Universidade Federal do Rio Grande, Brazil.
Frank Muller-Karger, University of South Florida,
St. Petersburg, FL, USA. Nubi Olubunmi Ayoola,
Nigerian Institute for Oceanography & Marine
Research, Lagos, Nigeria. Digna Rueda-Roa,
University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, FL, USA.
Aileen Tan Shau Hwai, Universiti Sains Malaysia,
Pulau Pinang, Malaysia.
ARTICLE CITATION
Kappel, E.S., B.K. Arbic, J. Diwa-Acallar, N. Moity,
J. Muelbert, F. Muller-Karger, O.A. Nubi, D. Rueda-Roa,
and A. Tan Shau Hwai. 2025. Introduction to the spe-
cial issue on a vision for capacity sharing in the ocean
sciences. Oceanography 38(1):6–8, https://doi.org/
10.5670/oceanog.2025.143.
COPYRIGHT & USAGE
This is an open access article made available under
the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/
licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, sharing, adap-
tation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium
or format as long as users cite the materials appro-
priately, provide a link to the Creative Commons
license, and indicate the changes that were made
to the original content.