Today Is World Oceans Day

No, this is not just another lame Hallmark Holiday. When the United Nations recently designated June 8 as World Oceans Day, its aim was to increase public awareness of the dire state of the world’s underwater ecosystems, and to inspire both public and governmental action.

Tragically, three quarters of the world’s fisheries are now overexploited, fully exploited, significantly depleted or recovering from overexploitation, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). But there’s good news too. Andrew Sharpless, CEO of the environmental organization Oceana, points out that "restoring abundant oceans is the most solvable global ecological challenge that we face today.” In short, local and international fisheries are a mess, but are not beyond hope of recovery.

With that positive spin in mind, World Oceans Day is meant to be a celebration of our oceans — which make up more than 70% of the Earth’s surface — as well as a reminder that important steps need to be taken to restore healthy fisheries for future generations. Locally, the Academy of Sciences is hosting a variety of special programs this week "designed to help visitors explore and protect the amazing biodiversity of our marine habitat," and Oceana V.P. Jim Ayers will be giving a special presentation at 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday at the St. Francis YC (open to members of all PICYA clubs.)

It’s not too late to reverse course, and as sailors we should all educate ourselves on the issues so we become part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.