1. Mind Your Carbon Footprint and Reduce Energy Consumption
Reduce the effects of climate change on the ocean by leaving the car at home when you can and being conscious of your energy use at home and work. A few things you can do to get started today: Switch to compact fluorescent light bulbs, take the stairs, and bundle up or use a fan to avoid oversetting your thermostat.
2. Make Safe, Sustainable Seafood Choices
Global fish populations are rapidly being depleted due to demand, loss of habitat, and unsustainable fishing practices. When shopping or dining out, help reduce the demand for overexploited species by choosing seafood that is both healthful and sustainable.
3. Use Fewer Plastic Products
Plastics that end up as ocean debris contribute to habitat destruction and entangle and kill tens of thousands of marine animals each year. To limit your impact, carry a reusable water bottle, store food in nondisposable containers, bring your own cloth tote or other reusable bag when shopping, and recycle whenever possible.
4. Help Take Care of the Beach
Whether you enjoy diving, surfing, or relaxing on the beach, always clean up after yourself. Explore and appreciate the ocean without interfering with wildlife or removing rocks and coral. Go even further by encouraging others to respect the marine environment or by participating in local beach cleanups.
5. Don’t Purchase Items That Exploit Marine Life
Certain products contribute to the harming of fragile coral reefs and marine populations. Avoid purchasing items such as coral jewelry, tortoiseshell hair accessories (made from hawksbill turtles), and shark products.
6. Be an Ocean-Friendly Pet Owner
Read pet food labels and consider seafood sustainability when choosing a diet for your pet. Never flush cat litter, which can contain pathogens harmful to marine life. Avoid stocking your aquarium with wild-caught saltwater fish, and never release any aquarium fish into the ocean or other bodies of water, a practice that can introduce non-native species harmful to the existing ecosystem.
7. Support Organizations Working to Protect the Ocean
Many institutes and organizations are fighting to protect ocean habitats and marine wildlife. Find a national organization and consider giving financial support or volunteering for hands-on work or advocacy. If you live near the coast, join up with a local branch or group and get involved in projects close to home.
8. Influence Change in Your Community
Research the ocean policies of public officials before you vote or contact your local representatives to let them know you support marine conservation projects. Consider patronizing restaurants and grocery stores that offer only sustainable seafood, and speak up about your concerns if you spot a threatened species on the menu or at the seafood counter.
9. Travel the Ocean Responsibly
Practice responsible boating, kayaking, and other recreational activities on the water. Never throw anything overboard, and be aware of marine life in the waters around you. If you’re set on taking a cruise for your next vacation, do some research to find the most eco-friendly option.
10. Educate Yourself About Oceans and Marine Life
All life on Earth is connected to the ocean and its inhabitants. The more you learn about the issues facing this vital system, the more you’ll want to help ensure its health—then share that knowledge to educate and inspire others.
GARBAGE COLLECTION IN THE OCEAN – It should start with better rubbish collection on land
Economist Sep 29th 2018
Plastic Debris in the ocean has surfaced recently as a prominent environmental concern. Other pollution takes a greater toll on the seas—fertiliser run-off can cause damage worth $200bn-800bn a year, compared with $13bn for marine plastic litter, according to one estimate. Yet palpable, garish plastics nevertheless attract the most attention. Rich-world television audiences gasp at harrowing images of sea creatures ensnared in disposable bags. Citizens of poor but pretty places worry that rubbish washed up on once-pristine beaches puts off wealthy sun-seekers.
The best solution is better rubbish collection in Asia. Just ten countries, eight of them Asian, spew two-thirds of all marine plastic litter originating on land (ships shed some, too, particularly old nets). Fully 90% of the stuff discharged by waterways comes from ten rivers, two in Africa and the rest in Asia. Around 1.5m tonnes of plastic flows down the Yangzi river in China each year, compared with 18 tonnes from the Thames. Scooping all this up will be hard.
In Hvaler, a small shrimp port 110km south of the Norwegian capital, Oslo, Hans Olaf, a craggy-faced skipper, remembers when he had to pay the local waste-management company to take away rubbish he caught in his nets. Most people just dumped it overboard instead, he says. Last year Hvaler was chosen as one of a dozen Norwegian harbours piloting a programme to make it simpler to discard trash in port than at sea. The garbage, mainly old fishing gear, is collected free by a Latvian firm which converts it into new nets.
“Fishing for litter” schemes exist in a number of North Sea fishing nations, including Scotland, England and the Netherlands. A government-sponsored one in the Indian state of Kerala has hauled in more than 65 tonnes of plastic waste since its launch last year. The material is shredded into plastic chips, which local construction firms buy to strengthen asphalt.
In March the port authority in Oslo approved a plan to clean up the litter from the Oslo fjord. To pinpoint underwater islands of rubbish, it turned to Blueye, a marine-technology firm based in Trondheim. Blueye has devised an underwater drone, tethered to a battery unit, which can be used for all manner of subsea inspection down to a depth of 150 metres. Its drones are considerably cheaper—and safer—than sending human divers or larger submersibles, so dozens can be deployed. A trial this spring showed promise. Next year an electric-powered ship with a crane will join the drone fleet to salvage the sunken trash.
Another scheme is The Ocean Cleanup, a Dutch charity backed by crowdfunders, deep-pocketed endowments and tech tycoons like Peter Thiel. It has designed a system to trawl for plastic in the vast mid-ocean gyres where currents funnel all manner of flotsam. It is huge: a drifting bow-shaped boom 600 metres long with a three-metre skirt dangling underneath. Because it is propelled by wind and waves, as well as the current, it outpaces the plastic detritus that is driven solely by the ocean. It therefore scoops up the litter as it moves.
After successful trials in the North Sea, the first full-size stage sailed from San Francisco on September 8th towards the Alaska-sized patch of garbage in the middle of the north Pacific. Boyan Slat, The Ocean Cleanup’s boss, believes that, once fully deployed in 2020, 60 such contraptions, costing $6m apiece, can mop up about 40,000 tonnes of plastic, around half of the total, within five years. He thinks that corporate sponsors will help foot the bill. Anchors aweigh.
