(Pour la version française, veuillez cliquer ici.)
Over 70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by one vast ocean. We talk of its different parts – the Atlantic, the Pacific, the Indian, the Arctic and the Southern Oceans – but in reality, they are interconnected. The ocean’s huge size ensures that it has a significant influence on our weather and climate by delivering heat and moisture around the globe.
However, our human activities are also damaging the health of the oceans and their inhabitants. In return the unhealthy oceans are contributing to our problems of climate change, lack of biodiversity and storm damage, among other issues. We need to care for our oceans!
Why are the oceans so important to humanity?
- Well over 50% of the world’s oxygen comes from the oceans.
- They absorb carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere thus making global warming lower than it might be.
- They absorb heat from the atmosphere, slowing the increase in global temperature.
- They regulate our climate.
- About 3 billion people rely on wild-caught and farmed seafood as a primary source of protein.
- They provide jobs for over 3 billion people worldwide.
How are we damaging our oceans?
Plastic waste washed ashore on a beach
Our lifestyles are creating enormous problems for the oceans and thus, ultimately, for ourselves.
- We are making the water more acidic. As we burn fossil fuels we continually release CO2 into the atmosphere. As the level of this gas rises, more is absorbed into seawater which then becomes increasingly acidic. This threatens the lives of sea creatures with shells and skeletons such as coral reefs, oysters and mussels.
- As the water gets hotter it expands and contributes to sea level rise. This is already threatening the existence of islands, marshes and wetlands around the world and will only become worse. It will ultimately create massive problems to many of the world’s major coastal cities. See this article. Aquifers and fields both become saltier and will ultimately be useless for food production.
- As already mentioned, our coral reefs are now under considerable stress from the increased acidity of the oceans. The risk of loss of many of our reefs is increased by the rising temperatures of the water, leading to what is known as coral bleaching. In many cases the reefs will die. It is said that over half of the Australian Great Barrier Reef has died since 1995. This is important, quite apart from the aesthetic point of view, as these reefs function as nurseries for young fish, threatening the food supplies and livelihoods of billions of people.
- The quantities of fish that we eat and our methods of obtaining them are disastrous for the long-term survival of our fish stocks, as well as for our food security and the biodiversity needed to keep the oceans healthy. We have seriously overfished many species. Many more are threatened by bottom trawling, dynamiting of fishing grounds, using fish to provide fish oil for human health, the killing of sharks for their fins and pollution from fish farms.
- Contamination by plastic has now reached even the most distant parts of our oceans and is taking a heavy toll on wildlife that eat it or get tangled up in it. This petition has some interesting information on the problem.
It looks calm but we need to work to keep it safe
How Can Individuals Make a Difference to the Health of our Oceans?
I believe that this is one situation where individuals have a lot to contribute politically and also in our daily lives.
- Many governments have paid lip service to protecting areas of their oceans and seas. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has said that at least 30% of the oceans must be protected by 2030. We are very far from that figure and thus our oceans remain in serious need of protection from overfishing and damage to biodiversity. We now have a number of Marine Conservation Areas designed to do just that. If the seas are fully protected these areas are known to be very effective. However, the British government (for example) has so far protected only 4% of their seas. The American government has protected 23% but most of that is in their isolated Pacific island possessions.
Here is an interesting article that explains how protecting our seas could help to save the planet.
So write to your government. Tell them that they are not doing nearly enough to protect the oceans. Tell them what you want them to do, and why.
Go and visit your political representative and tell them it is not good enough.
- Eat less fish.
- If buying in the UK, ensure that the fish you do buy has a Marine Stewardship Council label confirming that their fisheries are well managed. There is also a worldwide list of eco-labels called Ecolabel Index that can give guidance on buying sustainable fish. Or you can talk to your fishmonger about where the fish comes from.
- Never eat shark’s fin soup.
- Find an alternative to fish oil pills for the health of your heart. Write to your Health Food shop and tell them to stop stocking them.
- Join a group that works to protect our oceans and seas.
- Think about all the other things talked about to reduce your use of fossil fuels. The increase of CO2 in the atmosphere is our principal problem but by no means the only one.
- Cut out the use of single-use plastic.
Our oceans are vitally important to the future health of our planet and the food security of huge numbers of people. They are also important to us spiritually and for leisure purposes. Please read further about the problems and get active on writing to your politicians about it!
Thank you.
Interesting Links
The Great Barrier Reef has lost over half its corals since 1995: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54533971
How much of the ocean is really protected in 2020? https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/articles/2020/07/07/how-much-of-the-ocean-is-really-protected
The decline of marine diversity: https://ocean-climate.org/en/awareness/the-decline-of-marine-biodiversity/