Ocean on the Front Page: Alarming New Scientific Reports and Launch of New "Thank You Ocean" Campaign Bring Marine Issues to the Fore

By Suzanne Samuel
Published: November 2006

Fish dead from pollution. Credit: NOAA.

"Fish population on the brink" screamed the front page of the San Francisco Chronicle. "A future without fish" warned the New York Times.  These were two of many news media reporting on findings published in the November 3 issue of the journal Science detailing the true extent of our current ocean crisis.

Crisis in the ocean

In just the past century, the scientists reported, 90% of the world's fish and seafood has been depleted.  By 2048 we will have no fish left and the ocean's ecosystems will be destroyed unless we drastically change the way we are impacting the marine environment.

It's not too late, scientists say. Marine sanctuaries, like the Gulf of the Farallones Marine Sanctuary, are hailed as important steps in the right direction. Another important change is to choose sustainable seafood and avoid most farmed fish. 

Four years in the making, the report included the research of a dozen scientists from four countries. “When humans get into trouble they are quick to change their ways,” said lead author Boris Worm of Canada's Dalhousie University in the New York Times. “We still have rhinos and tigers and elephants because we saw a clear trend that was going down and we changed it. We have to do the same in the oceans.”

Gratitude to the ocean

Complementing the distress signal issued by the Science report, the "Thank You Ocean" campaign kicked off in California this month, raising awareness of the many ways in which the ocean benefits our state and the need to protect our marine resources. 

Thank You Ocean billboards (10 in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose), TV spots, bus shelter ads, mugs, and other venues detail the many ways the ocean helps the state--from tourism, to medicine, to recreation.

The campaign encourages Californians to:

• learn about the ocean (visit an aquarium, take a class, surf the Web to find out more)
• experience the ocean (go to the beach, hike an ocean-view trail, take a whale watching trip)
• respect the ocean (learn about marine life and your impact on them)
• choose the ocean (conserve water, don't pollute, don't wash your car at home)
• make a difference (join an organization like FMSA, volunteer, write your elected officials)

See the ads and learn more at www.thankyouocean.org.

Help for the ocean

Now, more than ever, the ocean needs your help.  Please support FMSA today.