Words: Jack Barber, Vegan Network Co-Chair and Sea Shepherd UK Volunteer

Photos: Jeremy Bishop on Unsplash

Thursday 8 June is World Ocean Day. Did you know our oceans cover around three-quarters of the Earth’s surface and provides at least 50% of the oxygen we breath? It’s home for up to 80% of all life on Earth, but unfortunately many of that life is at risk due to pollution, overfishing, unsustainable aquaculture, acidification and habitat destruction.

Here are some key issues I’ve picked out that you might not be aware of. At the end, you’ll see how you can help and get involved to make a difference for our oceans and everything that resides in them.

Seagrass

Seagrass is a particular unsung hero in our oceans. It acts as a nursery, food source and habitat for marine life, protects coastlines by absorbing wave energy, it produces oxygen, and soaks up pollution dumped in the oceans by humans. In addition, seagrass accounts for 10% of the ocean’s capacity to store carbon and it can capture carbon up to 35 times faster than tropical rainforests.

In the UK, we have lost 92% of our seagrass in the last century and whilst a third of UK seas are protected, unfortunately not many are well managed. Only 6% of the UK’s marine protected areas are safe from bottom-towed fishing gear, which is the main cause of destruction to seagrass.

Whaling

Sadly, despite there being a global ban on commercial whaling, Japan, Norway, and Iceland have defied the ban and continue to allow the needless killing of these beautiful creatures. It’s estimated that 50,000 whales have been killed since the global ban was introduced in 1986.

But did you know about the important part whales play in fighting climate change? The oxygen from our oceans largely comes from microscopic creatures called phytoplankton. These creatures also capture 37 billion metric tons of CO2, an estimated 40% of all CO2 produced. This is equivalent to the amount of CO2 captured by 1.70 trillion trees! Where do whales come in? Well, those tiny phytoplankton feed off whale poop. The whales feed on krill in the depths of the ocean and come up for air and to poop, feeding the phytoplankton at the surface, which in turn absorb carbon and release oxygen. Whales also store a large amount of carbon in their bodies, which usually sinks to the bottom of the ocean when they die, and that carbon is then stored in the seabed.

Shark Finning

Sharks play an important role in maintaining healthy oceans. They help maintain healthy ecosystems through predation of species and movement of nutrients by pooing in the shallower areas where nutrients don’t easily get to. They also help fight climate change as their bodies act as a carbon storage (in the same way as whales described above), and they are known to protect seagrasses by scaring sea turtles away. But it is estimated up to 100 million sharks are killed every year for their fins. Thankfully, the trading of shark fins was banned in the UK in 2022, but trading still continues in Europe and across the world and tragically finning has been on the increase in the past decade due to more demand for shark fin soup. It has become a multi-billion-pound industry that is largely unmanaged and unmonitored.

Nurdles

We all know that plastic pollution is a key issue for our ocean’s health. It’s estimated that 8 million tonnes of plastic goes into the oceans each year and by 2050 the ocean will carry more plastic than fish in weight. But what is a nurdle? Nurdles are tiny microplastics, less than 5mm in size, which are melted down to manufacture plastic items. Due to accidental spills and reckless manufacturing processes, an estimated 230,000 tonnes of plastic nurdles have entered our oceans. Big nurdle spills are also becoming more common, such as in May 2021 where 1,680 tonnes of nurdles were spilt off the coast of Sri Lanka. It was the worst environmental disaster in the country’s history, and the single largest nurdle pollution event the world has ever seen.

The nurdles contain toxic chemicals and they are easily ingested by marine wildlife, either in their nurdle form (as they look like fish eggs) or after breaking down into even smaller microplastics.

Dolphin Hunting

Similarly to sharks, dolphins play a crucial part in maintaining healthy ecosystems in our oceans and are also under threat. For example, in Japan for six months of the year a large-scale hunt of dolphins takes place in the small village of Taiji. It’s estimated around 22,000 dolphins are killed by humans driven by profit. This hunting is legal in Japan and citizens are encouraged to eat dolphin (even though demand is falling) as they blame dolphins for depletion in the number of fish, even though this is a myth with the real reason being due to human exploitation of our oceans. Live captured dolphins are considered even more lucrative, as they are sold to the dolphinarium industry and endure a sad life performing for humans.

How to Help?

There are several small lifestyle changes you can make, such as going fish free (or vegan), reducing single use plastic and not visiting dolphinariums. But the issues above are big and can’t be addressed through lifestyle changes alone. So, I’m asking you to support the following charities and organisations that are fighting to make a difference:

• The Nurdle Hunt is part of Fidra, an environmental charity working to reduce plastic waste and chemical pollution in our seas, on our beaches and in the wider environment.
• Sea Shepherd UK are a UK marine conservation charity who take direct action to put an end to whaling and have several other marine conservation campaigns.
• The Dolphin Project is dedicated to the welfare and protection of dolphins worldwide and have an ongoing campaign to stop the hunt of dolphins in Taiji, Japan.
• Stop Finning EU is a campaign to end the trading of shark fins in Europe.
• Project Seagrass is a global facing environmental charity devoted to the conservation of seagrass ecosystems through research, community and action.

You can also work with politicians to help improve regulations and the protection of marine habitats and support World Ocean Day’s call to protect at least 30% of our oceans by 2030: World Ocean Day – Uniting Ocean Action Worldwide on 8 June Every Year

Life on Earth began in our oceans over 3 billion years ago.

Let’s not be the generation to see it end.