Making waves on World Ocean Day: How we can all take action to protect our ocean

This year’s theme for World Ocean Day, ‘Catalysing Action for Our Ocean and Climate’, signals a new multi-year ambition to accelerate meaningful actions. But what does this entail, and how can we take steps in our daily lives and beyond to safeguard and enhance our ocean? How can we protect the climate, preserve the extraordinary marine life, support those whose livelihoods depend on the ocean, and ensure that we all continue to enjoy it?

To explore this, I’ve gathered some thoughts on this important day.

What does this theme mean?

The theme this year highlights the need for more rapid action – For decades, the response to this crisis has been unfortunately lacking, but it is imperative that we treat it with the urgency it deserves.

The World Ocean Day organisation reiterates it is to grow the movement through collaborative transformation to create a healthy blue planet and a society which is more just, equitable and sustainable.

Together, we can persuade national legislators and corporate leaders to follow through on their promises to do the right thing.

Why our ocean matters

Our ocean is vital for our climate, wildlife, and livelihoods. Protecting marine life and managing ocean resources sustainably is not only essential for our survival but also an ethical responsibility we have as stewards of the planet.

Here are just a few quick (but by no means an exhaustive) points on why the ocean is so important:

• The ocean covers 70.8% of the planet’s surface and has a volume of 1,370 million km3!
• It produces at least 50% of the planet’s oxygen.
• The ocean absorbs heat (93%) much more readily than ice or land surfaces, and stores energy much more efficiently.
• The ocean acts as a “carbon sink” and absorbs about 31% of the CO2 emissions released into the atmosphere according.
• Marine biodiversity is very special, and it accounts for most of the life on Earth, of which only 13% has been accurately identified so far.
• The ocean is key to our economy with an estimated 40 million people being employed by ocean-based industries by 2030.

The challenges our ocean and climate face and some reasons for hope!

Challenges:

• Insufficient protection – 30% of our seas are ‘protected’ but in practice less than 1% are well-managed.
• Rising ocean temperatures – around 90% of global warming occurs in the ocean, up 1.89°C since 1955.
• Biodiversity loss – 90% of marine species at risk of extinction by 2100 from the impacts of greenhouse emissions alone.
• Unsustainable extraction – 90% of big fish populations depleted, and 50% of coral reefs destroyed, we are taking more from the ocean than can be replenished.
• Sewage pollution – England spilt untreated sewage for a total of 263,654 hours - equivalent to over 30 years - across England.
• Plastic pollution – Every year, between 8 and 13 million tonnes of plastic enters our ocean.

The positives and reasons to hope:

• Biodiversity recovery – we know how to restore crucial coastal ecosystems, a brilliant example of this is the restoration of 1,400 km2 of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta mangrove forest.
• Plastic pollution – single-use plastic containing wet wipes have been banned in the UK in April this year (2024).
• Effective protection – almost 8% of the ocean has been structured as MPAs (Marine Protected Area).
• Extraction – roughly 34% of the world’s fisheries are reasonably well managed.

What can we do?

It can sometimes feel too overwhelming to do anything about the magnitude of the challenges our ocean faces… but it must be stressed that this isn’t the case! There are so many things we can do to make a difference such as:

• Donate or/and become a member of organisations who are working towards a better ocean future.
• Educate yourself on the challenges and solutions.
• Volunteer for beach cleans rewilding projects or citizen science initiatives.
• Campaign and advocate for policy changes by signing petitions, joining protests or marches and writing to your local MP.
• Make behavioural changes when possible. Some examples include reducing the number of plastics you buy, driving less, using more public transport and walking more often, buying more sustainable products or reducing the amount of meat and dairy you eat.

If you would like to support the Marine Conservation’s vital work you can:

• Become a member
• Volunteer
• Donate?

I would be grateful if you could take a minute to call the government to prioritise our ocean by signing this petition, and then sharing.

Anything you can do as an individual or with other organisations will help get us to where we need to go!

The biggest thing I would like anyone reading this to take away is that optimism breeds action. The more we demand action, the more progress we make, bringing more people, communities, governments, and corporations on board. We just need to pick up the pace!

Finally, I would like to personally thank you for reading this article.? Discussing and advocating for our environment, climate and the wonderful wildlife we are fortunate to live alongside on this planet is my biggest passion, so I appreciate you taking the time to read my musings.

Please do share any thoughts, suggestions or feedback in my comments!

Sources:

• Marine Conservation Society
• Ocean Climate organisation – Gilles Boeuf’s ‘Ocean, Biodiversity and Climate’
• World Ocean Day organisation – theme and actions
• UN – World Ocean Day 2024
• National Centers for Environmental Information – Quantifying the Ocean Carbon Sink
• Science – The state of ocean CO2 uptake
• Phys.org – Bob Yikra’s article on a 2022 global study
• NASA Climate Science – latest temperature measurement, December 2023
• Smithsonian Magazine – Eric Bender
• Annual Review of Environment and Resources – Christopher Costello and Daniel Ovando

Disclaimer: this blog is not in association with the Marine Conservation Society but my own personal content.