Biological diversity of the 72% of our planet covered by seawater is crucial to global resource security, ecosystem function and services, and climate dynamics. Current and future trends in marine biodiversity remain an important element to be fully assessed by the international community. It would be valuable to understand where are the current threats to marine biodiversity and what are the potential management response to mitigate these threats. The Marine Biodiversity Assessments and Outlook Series covered by the 18 Regional Seas Conventions and Action Plans addresses this gap by focusing on Pressure, State and Response indicators that provide an outlook into the current trends in marine biodiversity in the regions. Furthermore, by synthesizing current pressure points at the regional level there is the potential to identify the key global drivers of change for marine biodiversity and to identify suitable management responses through the engagement of policy makers.