World Ocean Day
Topic: Special Days
World Ocean Day was created at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and is celebrated annually on the 8th June. At the moment, the organisers are campaigning to have this day recognised and officially designated by the United Nations. They need 10,000 signatures. If you care about our oceans, why not sign this petition. You can do it online HERE.
One of the most damaging of ocean activities is the practice of deep-sea trawling. Everything, edible or not, is scooped up in the heavy nets. Coral is destroyed and fragile ecosytems are gone forever. The ocean floor is left a barren desert, with no shelter or food for the myriad of tiny fish fry. This practise should be banned as a matter of urgency. The Deep Sea Conservation Coalition has just released a white paper highlighting this problem, Six Good Reasons for a time-out on high seas bottom trawling. If something is not done soon, many fish will become extinct. Cod is already endangered and it is a fact that the mature breeding population is virtually non-existent. This means that immature fish are now breeding much earlier than normal. What effect this will have on the fish stock is unknown.
I can remember my Dad telling me that the sea was a wonderful source of food for mankind which would never run out. But it is running out. Also, the seas act as the lungs for our world and provide vast amounts of oxygen. However, if we turn the oceans into dank, polluted water deserts, what will happen then?
Do you want to have to explain to your grandchildren or great grandchildren what Fish 'n Chips tasted like? I certainly don't. Now is the time for our generation to do something before it is too late. One way is to support the campaign for the preservation of our beautiful oceans and their diverse marine life. We must do this for our descendants' sakes before it is too late and that point of no return is looming closer day by day. Go on, sign that petition now - I have.