A Call to Action to Protect Our Oceans

The ocean covers almost three quarters of our planet and sustains life on Earth as we know it.  But our ocean is at grave risk today — and we know the reason why.

Human activity threatens the world's ocean.  Often illegal international fishing practices are decimating fisheries.  A garbage patch twice the size of Texas floats in the Pacific Ocean, evidence of the trash we cast into our waterways. Rising carbon dioxide levels from emissions increase ocean acidity, endangering coral reefs and other marine life.

The warning could not be starker: Unless these trends are reversed, the effects across the planet will be profound.  The damage will be felt whether you live on a coastline or hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean's edge.  The ocean produces half the world's oxygen, creates the clouds that bring fresh water and regulates our climate.  More than a billion people eat fish for their primary source of protein.  Fishing is a $500 billion global industry, and one in six jobs is marine-related in the United States.

A Call to Action to Protect Our Oceans