The 2025 Bow Seat Ocean Awareness Contest invites you to explore your connection to nature—and this year, we encourage you to think about the High Seas. How do these vast, unclaimed waters fit into your story? Billions of years ago, the first living organisms emerged from the sea, setting the stage for every creature that followed. Today, the high seas—unclaimed waters beyond national borders remain one of the last great frontiers of our planet, home to bioluminescent species, deep-sea corals, and ancient ecosystems we’re only beginning to understand. For centuries, these waters have existed without clear protections, making them vulnerable to overfishing, pollution, and exploitation. The High Seas Treaty is set to change this. It’s the first-ever global agreement to safeguard marine biodiversity in international waters, ensuring that these ecosystems continue to thrive for generations to come. Protecting the high seas is more than about conservation—it’s about preserving the origins...