Society is largely ocean illiterate and a basic understanding of the key concepts needed for sound decision making on matters related to sustainability and the health of humankind is lacking. At present, a network of approximately 100 members of the ocean science and education communities are working together to make understanding the ocean part of the formal K-12 curriculum. The emergent consensus among the members of the group has resulted in a definition of ocean literacy that is supported by seven essential principles and forty-four fundamental concepts to be taught in school, which are addressed in this article.