ABSTRACT:  In 2019, South Africa proclaimed 20 new Marine Protected Areas, a ten-fold increase in ocean protection adding 50 000 km2 to the protected area network and providing the first protection to offshore ecosystems. This presentation distills personal lessons from the 15 years of work to build the science base, relationships, knowledge products, communication strategy and capacity to advance offshore protection. Key challenges included research and capacity gaps, ocean literacy and communication challenges, technological limitations, unco-ordinated planning and fractured governance. Efforts to collate, co-ordinate and strengthen research were a critical underpinning to systematic conservation planning and responsive research was needed to address stakeholder inputs in the implementation phase. In a developing country context, co-operative research with multiple industries was essential to increase access to information and build the stakeholder relationships needed for the decade of negotiations that followed. An Offshore Environment Forum helped maintain stakeholder engagement initiated at the outset in an adaptive stakeholder process. Inclusion of deep-sea ecosystems in a national ecosystem map and then in the National Biodiversity Assessment helped advanced research into policy and a presidential oceans economy initiative provided an opportunity for implementation. Implementation obstacles were complex and varied but included challenges in communicating the purpose, need and benefits of offshore protection to government officials, politicians, decision makers and the public. Drawing from investigations of drivers of environmental behaviour change, we sought to foster emotional connections with the ocean, highlight responsibilities to future generations and motivate implementation with positive, inclusive and inspirational messages and imagery. Together with an emphasis on the economic, spiritual and cultural values of the deep sea including opportunities for discovery, these played a disproportionate role in garnering decision maker support.