Dear colleagues,

We are delighted to wish you a very warm welcome to the 1^st International Symposium on Human Health and the Ocean in a changing world held on December 2-3, 2020 in Monaco, further to its postponement due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ocean covers more than 70% of the planet’s surface, regulates the Earth’s climate, produces a large proportion of the oxygen in our atmosphere and is the major source of food proteins for over a billion people.

However, it is increasingly affected by global changes and degraded marine ecosystems are under persistent and growing risk of further damage from microbiological and chemical pollution, overexploitation, and climate change.

The interactions between ocean and human health are numerous, complex and yet largely unknown to the major part of the public, the stakeholders and the scientific community. While the future state of the ocean will largely determine the future health and well-being of everyone.

The purpose of the 1^st International Symposium on Human Health and the Ocean in a changing world is to provide an update on the various risks human activities expose the oceans to, and the threats that those activities and the resulting ocean degradation pose to human health, but also to consider the various benefits that the Ocean can bring to the health and wellbeing of populations.

Considering the current global health situation, this 1st edition has been redesigned in order to enable our colleagues from abroad to participate from home in all the sessions. The Symposium has gone hybrid and the format has been reduced to 2 afternoons so that our colleagues from the United States and the American Continent would be on the same time zone to assist to the streamed sessions. Participants from country who will be allowed to travel to Monaco are still welcome at the One Monte-Carlo to assist live from the meeting room to all the sessions, respecting of course social distancing.

The communications will alternate mini-reviews by internationally renowned speakers – physically or virtually – and short communications open to researchers in the various fields covered.

Hoping to welcome all of you in the near future for a rich 2^nd Symposium, we wish you a warm welcome to Monaco for this 1^st edition – online or on site!