At the third United Nations Ocean Conference in June, UN member states committed to reducing the flow of pollutants from rivers to oceans (see go.nature.com/44yengt). But discussions missed a key factor in how land and sea are connected — through the migratory fish, birds and marine mammals, such as seals, that move between oceans or rivers and land (S. A. Sandin et al. Proc. Natl Acad. Sci. USA 119, e2122354119; 2022).
Competing Interests
The authors declare no competing interests.
