Emergence of a global science–business initiative for ocean stewardship

Significance The ocean is under considerable pressure originating from diverse human activities on land and in the water. While substantial literature has focused on how science interacts with policy, relatively little is known about interactions between science and business. Here, we describe: ( i ) the process of identifying “keystone actors” in marine ecosystems, namely globally operating corporations engaged in fisheries and aquaculture, with a unique ability to influence change and take on a leadership role in ocean stewardship; ( ii ) how we actively engaged with these actors, to collaboratively develop solutions to the ocean sustainability challenge; and ( iii ) how this coproduction process led to the establishment of a unique global ocean initiative, where science and business collaborate toward the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.