Blue Ocean Institute
Have you ever heard of The Blue Ocean Institute? If not, please read about them.
Blue Ocean Institute
From Arctic Alaskan fishing villages to Zanzibar’s shores, the staff of Blue Ocean Institute studies and articulates how the ocean is changing and how everything humans do—both on land and at sea—affects the waters, wildlife, and people of our world. But gloomy environmental warnings and predictions don’t move people to make changes that can help our shared ocean. MacArthur Prize-winning scientist/author Dr. Carl Safina and Mercédès Lee created Blue Ocean Institute in 2003 as a unique voice of hope, guidance, and encouragement.
Blue Ocean Institute is the only conservation organization that uses science, art, and literature to inspire a closer bond with nature, especially the sea. We translate scientific information into language people can understand and use to make better choices on behalf of the sea. Whether you’re a fisherman, seafood lover, student, faith leader, parent, artist, or chef, our programs help you learn how and why you should protect our planet’s life-giving ocean.
What You Can Do?
Tell your local representatives that you support expansion of marine reserves to protect valuable and threatened marine species and habitats. To learn more about marine reserves and take action see: www.piscoweb.org/outreach/pubs/reserves; www.sanctuaries.noaa.gov.
Get involved with management of marine areas in your neck of the woods. Visit the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration website and click on a link to your local fisheries management council: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/councils.htm. These sites will provide information about upcoming council meetings and other events in your area.
Help reduce climate change. Take steps to curb your own carbon footprint, and encourage action by your local community, religious group, and schools. We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions significantly to preserve the life support systems of the planet as we know them. This challenge requires action at the individual, community, national, and international levels, but we can all play a role. There are several organizations with scientifically sound, trusted information about climate change and how we can each make a difference. We recommend the following:
http://www.350.org/action-ideas
One of the most important steps you can take is to support urgent action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by writing to your representatives in Congress. Several bills are currently in Congress regarding ocean legislation and climate change—you can make a difference by voicing support for the measures that need to be taken now to protect the seas and the people who depend on them. See www.oceanconservancy.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ta_actionalerts
to receive updates on pending legislation and let your voice be heard.
Beach Clean ups are a good way to get to know your community and help keep garbage out of the sea or prevent it from re-entering the sea. This is also a great way to introduce kids to the concept that “all drains lead to the ocean” and that the ocean is not endless—it is just a big salty pool and what goes in, eventually washes back up or fills up the water.
Limit your use of plastic. Not only does new plastic require use of fossil fuels, but every year tens of thousands of seabirds, sea turtles, and marine mammals drown or starve due to entanglement in marine debris, over half of which is from plastic. Once in the ocean, it is hard to clean up plastic waste, so it is best to stop it at the source—demand less and less will be produced. You can start by bringing your own bag to the grocery store, and purchasing foods with minimal packaging.
Make educated choices when purchasing seafood in restaurants or grocery stores. See www.blueocean.org/seafood for a guide to healthy, sustainable seafood and for information about FishPhone, our text messaging service to give you on-the-go information.