{"id":41212,"date":"2025-01-18T09:47:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-18T14:47:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?p=41212"},"modified":"2025-01-18T09:47:25","modified_gmt":"2025-01-18T14:47:25","slug":"5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Over 3.7 billion years ago, life on Earth was born in the oceans. Since then, their size and composition, as well as the organisms living in them, have continued to change and evolve. \u00a0Within their expanse lies a world of wonders \u2014 coral forests, mountains, volcanoes, minerals, and even deserts. From tiny bacteria and algae to mammals, fish, and birds, our oceans are teeming with life. But despite centuries of study, much of its biodiversity remains a mystery.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humankind has relied on the oceans for eons, but not until the last few centuries have our activities become a real threat. Pollution, overfishing, mining, and the destruction of the oceans\u2019 richest areas, are leaving a mark that is difficult to erase. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Protecting the oceans is vital for the health of our planet, our survival, and the well-being of countless species. While the reasons seem endless, here are five reasons to protect our oceans.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

BIODIVERSITY<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our oceans are home to possibly as many as 2.2 million species, from iconic wildlife like the great white shark and the blue whale to some of which we haven\u2019t even discovered yet!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Great Barrier Reef \u2013 the largest living structure \u2013 is home to over 12,000 species alone. But threats like overfishing and climate change are putting our oceans and marine wildlife at risk. And without significant changes, by 2100, more than half of the world’s marine species will be threatened with extinction. Protecting marine wildlife protects the very balance of already delicate ecosystems.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can learn more about protecting biodiversity and critical habitat by checking out this blog post by Oceana in Europe on the importance of marine protected areas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FOOD SECURITY AND LIVELIHOODS<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

About 740 million people are nutritionally or economically dependent on the ocean. Fish are a key animal protein source for over 3 billion people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overfishing, however, depletes many of the world\u2019s fish populations. In fact, almost 10 million tons of fish are tossed overboard each year from fishing practices. But sustainable fishing and responsible fisheries management can help ensure fish populations recover. These efforts are essential for those who depend on healthy and abundant oceans for food and livelihoods. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

HUMAN HEALTH<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Did you know healthy oceans are also good for human health?<\/a> Sea whips have anti-inflammatory and pain-relieving properties. Multiple species of sponges around the world contain chemicals that have been used to make anti-virals. The sea squirt even inspired a cancer drug!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While these are just a few examples \u2013 they all have something in common. They all come from animals that are slow-growing, benthic (found on the seafloor), sessile (rooted in one spot), or some combination of these traits. But the areas where animals like this are found are often at risk of threats like deep-sea mining or bottom trawling. Protecting our oceans from destructive fishing practices and acts that disrupt delicate habitats can in turn help us. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

RECREATION AND TOURISM<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Every year, millions flock to our coastlines. Whether to surf, swim, whale watch, or just enjoy some time on the beach, the coasts play a significant role in tourism. But with ocean temperatures rising, and coastal development on the rise, the tourism that economically fuels these communities and brings joy to millions is at risk of collapsing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

CLIMATE REGULATION<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our oceans play a critical role in climate regulation. In fact, the oceans actively help protect us from the worst impacts of climate change, absorbing more than 90% of all the excess heat trapped on Earth by greenhouse gas pollution in recent decades.<\/em> And without the oceans absorbing that heat, life on Earth would have been made impossible a long time ago. Unfortunately, ocean policy is often overlooked in discussions of climate action and solutions. But we can turn the tide by drastically reducing greenhouse gas emissions and allowing our oceans to do what they do best \u2013 sustain life. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Learn more about Oceana’s campaigns<\/a> to protect and restore the world’s oceans or visit our resource center<\/a> for ways you can get involved. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over 3.7 billion years ago, life on Earth was born in the oceans. Since then, their size and composition, as well as the organisms living in them, have continued to change and evolve. \u00a0Within their expanse lies a world of wonders \u2014 coral forests, mountains, volcanoes, minerals, and even deserts. From tiny bacteria and algae … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":298,"featured_media":41213,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"location":[],"expedition":[],"campaign":[],"ppma_author":[334],"class_list":["post-41212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","infinite-scroll-item"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans | Oceana<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Protecting our oceans is vital, and while the reasons seem endless, check out these 5 reasons to protect our oceans.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Protecting our oceans is vital, and while the reasons seem endless, check out these 5 reasons to protect our oceans.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Oceana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oceana\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-01-18T14:47:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-01-18T14:47:25+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Jessica McLean\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Oceana\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Oceana\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Jessica McLean\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Jessica McLean\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/faeb189c76b1c474ad135afa0535b8ab\"},\"headline\":\"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-18T14:47:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-18T14:47:25+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/\"},\"wordCount\":666,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/\",\"name\":\"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans | Oceana\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-01-18T14:47:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-01-18T14:47:25+00:00\",\"description\":\"Protecting our oceans is vital, and while the reasons seem endless, check out these 5 reasons to protect our oceans.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":900,\"caption\":\"Oceana | Houssine Kaddachi\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/homepage\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/\",\"name\":\"Oceana\",\"description\":\"We are Protecting the World's Oceans.\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Oceana\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/06\/oceana-logo.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/06\/oceana-logo.jpg\",\"width\":500,\"height\":500,\"caption\":\"Oceana\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oceana\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/Oceana\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oceana\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/oceanaorg\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/faeb189c76b1c474ad135afa0535b8ab\",\"name\":\"Jessica McLean\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/00539306ce4a9ea539d2a75654268fd9\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Jessica McLean\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/author\/jessicamclean\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans | Oceana","description":"Protecting our oceans is vital, and while the reasons seem endless, check out these 5 reasons to protect our oceans.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans","og_description":"Protecting our oceans is vital, and while the reasons seem endless, check out these 5 reasons to protect our oceans.","og_url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/","og_site_name":"Oceana","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oceana","article_published_time":"2025-01-18T14:47:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-01-18T14:47:25+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":900,"url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Jessica McLean","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Oceana","twitter_site":"@Oceana","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Jessica McLean","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/"},"author":{"name":"Jessica McLean","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/faeb189c76b1c474ad135afa0535b8ab"},"headline":"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans","datePublished":"2025-01-18T14:47:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-18T14:47:25+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/"},"wordCount":666,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png","inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/","name":"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans | Oceana","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png","datePublished":"2025-01-18T14:47:21+00:00","dateModified":"2025-01-18T14:47:25+00:00","description":"Protecting our oceans is vital, and while the reasons seem endless, check out these 5 reasons to protect our oceans.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2025\/01\/5Reasons_BlogHero.png","width":1200,"height":900,"caption":"Oceana | Houssine Kaddachi"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/5-reasons-to-protect-our-oceans\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/homepage\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"5 Reasons to Protect Our Oceans"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/","name":"Oceana","description":"We are Protecting the World's Oceans.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#organization","name":"Oceana","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/06\/oceana-logo.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/18\/2021\/06\/oceana-logo.jpg","width":500,"height":500,"caption":"Oceana"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/oceana","https:\/\/x.com\/Oceana","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/oceana\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/oceanaorg"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/faeb189c76b1c474ad135afa0535b8ab","name":"Jessica McLean","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/00539306ce4a9ea539d2a75654268fd9","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Jessica McLean"},"url":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/blog\/author\/jessicamclean\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":334,"user_id":298,"is_guest":0,"slug":"jessicamclean","display_name":"Jessica McLean","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/673ff367d2e1d63c919c5da918ccf999e19dda603a32787baa84d8ef2688e555?s=96&d=mm&r=g","phone":"","last_name_2":"","last_name":"","first_name":"Jessica McLean","job_title":"","user_url":"","description":""}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41212","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/298"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41212"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41212\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":41214,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41212\/revisions\/41214"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41213"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41212"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"location","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/location?post=41212"},{"taxonomy":"expedition","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/expedition?post=41212"},{"taxonomy":"campaign","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campaign?post=41212"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oceana.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=41212"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}