Given that a majority of our Earth is actually Ocean, unless we are all cool with eating genetically modified goo bars, breathing through oxygen masks, and dodging deathly dust storms, we need a living ocean to keep on living lives that resemble what we know now.
The good news is that the High Seas Treaty recently received its 60th ratification and it is now only a matter of 120 days until it becomes enforceable. Up until now, there was no legal framework to govern an area that covers most of the Earth’s surface and thus belongs to no one, yet everyone at once.
Oceana’s Chief Scientist Dr. Katie Matthews says, “For the first time, we have the legal foundation to safeguard marine diversity in waters that belong to everyone and no one at the same time. What matters now is turning paper into protection.”
She adds, “For too long, the high seas have been a Wild West — lacking comprehensive oversight. The ratification of the High Seas Treaty will help bring order. For the first time, we have the legal foundation to safeguard marine diversity in waters.”
Although this is indeed a landmark piece of legislation, there is much that needs to continue to happen on the local, regional, and global level to ensure that we collectively do the right thing. Legislation alone will never solve our problems, we need activism, innovation, and conservation to all work together to protect the livelihoods of future generations.
Related: Bureo & NetPlus: Surfers & Fishermen Working Together For Clean Seas
Over the past year I have covered an array of stories touching upon different environmental subjects in the greater ocean space. From SeaTrees coral reef restoration projects in Fiji, to Bureo’s Netplus recycling program in Chile, to the Urban Sea institute in cleaning waterways in Rio de Janeiro, to Hog Island’s regenerative ocean farming in Northern California.
All of these projects have one thing in common and that’s the realization that the ocean must be protected precisely because we depend on it to survive. It’s important to emphasize this because there is an unfortunate trend that casts doubt upon environmental activism as something whimsical and that it is the economy that must be prioritized. The fact is that we all like eating fish, but if there are no fish, none of us can eat.
Related: Hog Island Oyster Co: Jobs, Food, & Reversing Climate Change
The fact is that all of us who surf depend on clean water, and clean air, to be able to safely engage in the waves that we love. That should never be a political point, that is a basic fact. Our coverage of such stories, that can all fall under the umbrella of the “environment”, go beyond any trivial political matters and right into the heart of what it is all about–protecting what we love.
In regards to the treaty, Dr. Matthews continued to say, “What matters now is turning paper into protection. Nations must move quickly from ratification to real-world implementation. If world leaders are serious about protecting 30% of the ocean by 2030, that requires ambitious action on the high seas.
“The health of our oceans, and the billions of people who rely on them for food, livelihoods, and climate stability, depends on what comes next.”