“I must go down to the seas again, to the lonely sea and the sky, And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by.” John Masefield.
Masefield’s poem “Sea Fever” reminds us of the beauty of the oceans and how their wild and tempestuous nature calls us, and fills our souls with wonder. The deep oceans are places of awe and mystery – and yet humanity despoils them.
Our pollution is everywhere. Plastic is found far from land and in the strangest places. Some years ago now an American explorer found a plastic bag at the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean. He was 11 kilometres deep at the time. Likewise, plastic is said to kill 100 million marine creatures every year (see here).
What is happening to our oceans?
There are eight billion people living on this planet and as a result of our activities we are severely damaging our oceans. According to the National Geographic Magazine we are threatening the oceans in a number of ways. Global Warming caused by our use of fossil fuels is a major threat, causing huge changes in sea chemistry and ocean currents. It threatens many sea species that cannot cope with the higher temperatures. The article also says that overfishing, invasive species, oil spills and plastic pollution are all contributing to the declining health of our oceans.
This gives the world a major problem.
Ocean Rubbish
Why should we care for the oceans?
According to the Marine Conservation Organisation “The ocean is the largest ecosystem on Earth, and it is the planet’s life support system.”
What does that mean? It means that healthy oceans are essential for all life on Earth.
That seems worth repeating!
We receive many benefits from the ocean
- The oceans produce the oxygen which allows sea creatures to survive. (This is being affected by Climate Change.)
- Healthy oceans regulate our climate and reduce the impacts of Climate Change.
- They produce at least one fifth of the animal protein that people need to eat.
- They provide a livelihood for millions of people.
- They provide a method of transportation, and much of our trade is carried out by sea.
- They provide beauty, relaxation and pleasure for millions of people.
- They support an incredible diversity of life.
Can We as Individuals Make a Difference?
According to the article by the Marine Conservation Organisation there are things that we can all do to help protect our oceans. I am going to include all of it as I believe we really can make a difference here.
- Learn about and support your local or national marine protected areas – research opportunities to volunteer with them. The best protected areas are the ones with strong local support!
If you travel, visit marine protected areas that are conserving marine wildlife – the Blue Parks are great ones! (See this article here on Blue Parks.)
- Take only pictures and leave only footprints.
- Tell your politicians that you think protecting ocean wildlife is important. Write to them regularly!
- Tell your politicians that you think acting on climate change is important. Keep telling them!
- Talk with others about ocean wildlife and ocean protections – spread the word about what we can do to save ocean ecosystems.
- Stop using single-use plastics (e.g., grocery bags, straws, to-go containers, bottled drinks); cut unnecessary products out of your routines and opt for reusable items. Let companies know why you are choosing or avoiding their products.
- Reduce your use of fossil fuels – ride your bike, use electric cars and public transit, attend meetings and conferences virtually to reduce long-distance travel, power your home with renewable energy, and eat less meat.
- If you eat seafood, buy only sustainably-fished seafood.
- Support conservation organizations working to safeguard marine biodiversity. If you’d like to support Marine Conservation Institute’s work, please make a donation today.
What is the good news about the oceans?
A Celebration – Perhaps?
The BBC reports the implementation of a major ocean treaty. (September 2025): “A global agreement designed to protect the world’s oceans and reverse damage to marine life is set to become international law.”
This treaty which has been many years in the making will pave the way for the defence of international waters and the creation of Marine Protected Areas. UN General Secretary Antonio Gutteres said that “Covering more than two-thirds of the ocean, the agreement sets binding rules to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity.”
Will it?
Protecting the high seas is challenging as no one country owns them and each has the right to fish there. The BBC article says that “Critics point out that countries will conduct their own environmental impact assessments and make the final decision – although other countries can register concerns with monitoring bodies.”
My belief is that it will make some difference. Whether it is enough or not I don’t know. Nevertheless, there is already some very good and interesting work going on in marine protection.
Resharking
A rewilding programme was started in Indonesia in 2022 to increase the population of tiger sharks. This is a global scheme intended to increase the much-decreased population of sharks.
Increasing the number of sharks is important as they are responsible for keeping control of other larger fish on the coral reefs thus increasing the number of fish available for eating.
This scheme will also help people economically through eco-tourism, and of course feeding their families.
Storing Carbon and Climate Change
While it is well-recognised that forests can pull carbon dioxide out of the air and improve Global Warming, it is not so well known that sea grasses, seaweed, salt marshes and seabed sediments are even more efficient than trees at removing carbon from the atmosphere. This article only talks about Britain, but worldwide sea storage of carbon is very important and includes ecosystems like mangrove swamps and large seagrass meadows. Creatures like whales and large sea invertebrates can also be responsible for sequestering carbon as they sink to the bottom of the ocean when they die.
For me personally, I do not eat prawns from places like Thailand, as they dig up the mangrove swamps to farm the prawns. Difficult, but worth the effort!!
Cabo Pulmo Mexico
This article on a marine protected area in Mexico demonstrates just how useful these areas can be.
In the 1990s in California the fishermen noticed that their fish catches were falling off. They campaigned to protect an area of reef round Cabo Pulmo where fishing could be banned and the fish stocks could recover. The article shows that “The area was designated a National Marine Park in 1995. Since then, fish biomass has increased by 463%. Populations of whale sharks, manta rays, humpback whales and sea turtles have all increased, while fishermen can still take advantage of the increased fishing opportunities outside of the protected area.”
Quite a number of Marine Protected Areas worldwide have shown similar results. In other words they work if we do it properly.
Cleaning up ocean plastic pollution
There are a number of organisations working hard to clean up plastic in the ocean. One organisation that does that is The Ocean Cleanup Organisation.
This plastic of course has a devastating effect on ocean wildlife. We have all seen the photos of turtles with plastic bags wrapped round their heads. We are perhaps slightly less aware that these plastics break up into micro-plastics that enter our food chain. This company says that it plans to clean up 90% of the floating ocean plastic by 2040. Other organisations have similar aims.
There are also organisations out there that take direct action to protect the oceans, for example Sea Shepherd.
The Future
Our Ocean health is vital to the future of humanity. I have shown a number of ways that we can restore our seas to full health. There are of course many more. We must, however, ensure that our politicians are clear about the importance of that health. Our task as individuals and in community is to keep them focussed on that challenge.
We can and must concentrate on that task. I know we like our bottom-trawled fish and our water from plastic bottles. But I believe we have to resist those pleasures. To quote a certain gentleman, “We must fight like hell for the future of our oceans.” They are so very important.
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Photos by Silas Baisch, John Cameron and Ray Hennessy on Unsplash