The oceans are a vital part of our ecology and environment. Because humans spend most of their time on land, we tend to think about environmental issues from that perspective. But our vast oceans, which cover more than 70% of the Earth’s surface area and nearly 99% of the living space on our planet, are crucial towards maintaining strong environmental balance. Our oceans support over half of the species on the planet, and yet we know relatively little about them.
This site is dedicated to highlighting some of the ongoing work in marine life ecology and preservation activities, as well as helping individuals determine specific things that they can do to help keep our oceans clean and in a healthy ecological balance. Even if you don’t spend a lot of time in the ocean, it’s important to recognize how much the ocean impacts your daily life and what you can do to help make sure that our oceans remain healthy and vibrant.
About Marine Preservation
Marine Preservation and conservation is ultimately about trying to keep all the interdependent systems (both biological and physical) functioning in balance. Our oceans, rivers and lakes are a large, powerful and complicated ecosystem. It’s also an ecosystem that our species is highly dependent upon and has been for tens of thousands of years. Despite this lengthy dependency, the science of marine preservation and conservation is ultimately quite new.
There are many laws and treaties around the world that are designed to protect this fragile ecosystem, and those regulations are under constant pressure from economic forces. In order to protect our planet, we must learn to keep these in balance. The first step towards that goal is to further more understanding of our ocean’s ecosystem. The next step is to encourage broader action, innovation training, collaboration and cooperation between nations and groups to keep our oceans thriving.
How can you get involved?
It’s very easy to get personally involved in making a difference. Be a champ and do your part to help the oceans. The first step is knowledge: the more we all know and understand about our marine ecosystem, the more we’ll be able to do collectively to help. If you’re looking to take steps to get more practically involved, it’s easy to take some specific steps. First, take a look at the getting started resources below. There are plenty of communities near oceans, lakes and rivers that organize events to both educate encourage participation in events such as ocean clean-up, wildlife care, and more. Look in your local newspaper or check with a nearby neighborhood association for events in your area.
Fun with Fish
Don’t forget that fish can be fun. Teaching your kids about healthy marine habitats is a great family activity. Often it can be more fun than having your kids sit around in front of the computer all day playing games like Club Penguin or Poptropica. There are plenty of great computer video games about fish, but you can also get your kids involved at the library or even by starting an aquarium in your home.