In the spring of 2010, I was one of a few journalists invited to travel down to the coast of Ecuador to join an ocean-going TED conference. With me aboard a National Geographic science vessel were ocean and climate scientists, underwater photographers, marine activists, environmental group CEOs, a lot of green-minded rich people, and famous actors like Leonardo DiCaprio and Edward Norton.

I promise that what follows is not just a chance to tell one of the few close brushes with celebrity in my journalistic career.

For several days, we toured the pristine Galapagos Islands and listened to presentations from the experts and artists on board. That’s how I ended up snorkeling in the Pacific with DiCaprio, and, one night, playing the party game Werewolf with the Hollywood contingent. (The details are fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure Norton eliminated me right away. The lesson here is don’t play a game that depends on acting ability with Academy Award-nominated actors.)

We were all there because of the work of Sylvia Earle, a legendary oceanographer and advocate for marine conservation. Earle was launching Mission Blue, an organization dedicated to creating a global network of marine protected areas (MPAs), including the largely unprotected high seas or international waters. As Earle put it in a 2009 speech, “The high seas — the areas beyond national jurisdiction — cover nearly half of the world, but they’re a kind of ‘no-man’s-land’ where anything goes.” Less than 1 percent of the high seas are classified as highly protected.

But now, thanks to a rare piece of environmental good news, the high seas are finally getting some protection. On January 17, the UN’s long-gestating international High Seas Treaty entered into force, meaning it became binding international law for the countries and parties that have ratified it.

It’s not a complete fulfillment of what ocean advocates like Earle have long called........

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