TRASH HERO ♻️

Throughout 2021 @trash hero have been taking part in a global citizen science project, organised by Break Free From Plastic (BFFP). Volunteers recorded the brands of thousands of pieces of plastic waste they collected at clean-ups. The final data will form part of the BFFP's annual Brand Audit Report, which looks at the role of corporations in plastic pollution and holds them accountable for the waste they produce. This year's report will be released next month to coincide with the COP26 Summit in Glasgow. #oceanfamilyfoundation #trashhero ...

NORTH SAILS 🗺

@northsails_collection and @coralgardeners are joining forces to inspire change and create a worldwide movement able to restore and protect coral reefs.

Unfortunately, due to climate change, half of the world's corals are disappearing. But together, we can change that. You can be part of the movement by registering online (👉🏼 https://webstore.northsails.com/gb/en/adoptacoral.html) to adopt a coral and together with @coralgardeners and @northsails_collection you will be contributing to repopulating the reef. #oceanfamilyfoundation #northsails #coralgardeners. ...

NEW SCIENCE 🚨

When the mouth of the St Lucia Estuary in South Africa's iSimangaliso World Heritage Area opened to the sea earlier this year, bull sharks began pupping in this area, with the young sharks immediately moving up into the lake system, illustrating the critical importance of these estuary systems as nursery areas. Led by @oceanswithoutborders collaborator and shark scientist, Dr Ryan Daly, this event shaped OWB's latest scientific research paper in the African Journal of Marine Science.

It also includes the first published record of a Nile crocodile preying on a bull shark!

📸 @markziephoto #oceanswithoutborders #oceanfamilyfoundation ...

GO AND EXPLORE 💙

Let’s preserve our 🌍. Mother nature’s gym is by far the most adventurous 🏃🏽. #OceanFamilyFoundation ...

GLOBAL GOALS 🎯

@aplasticplanet are supporting the #worldstodolist this year, and we encourage you to do your part in helping achieve @theglobalgoals

Working together we can work towards a better future 😊. #OceanFamilyFoundation ...

OCEAN PHOTOGRAPHY 🏆

The #OceanPhotographyAwards capture the beauty of marine life - and it’s suffering.

This shot 👆🏼 of a sea nettle - a type of jellyfish - drifting in the shallows of Monterey Bay in California, US, appeared in the People's Choice Award category. 📸 Maxwel Hohn

The photos are on display in a free outdoor public exhibition alongside the River Thames from 17 September - 17 October on the Queen's Walk, near Tower Bridge, central London.

#oceanfamilyfoundation ...

WORLDRISE 💘

30x30 Italia is @worldrise_onlus Campaign which aims to protect 30% of our seas by 2030 through the establishment and effective management of Marine Protected Areas (MPA).

Did you know?!

🔹 Over 70% of our planet’s oxygen is produced by the ocean.

It’s thought that between 70 - 80% of the oxygen we breathe is produced by marine plants, nearly all of which are marine algae.

🔸 We still only know a fraction of the marine species in our oceans.

According to the World Register of Marine Species there are now 240,470 accepted species, but this is believed to be just a small proportion of the species that exist, with new marine life being discovered everyday.

🔹 Less than 5% of the planet’s oceans have been explored.

According to the Ocean Service, man has explored less than five per cent of Earth’s oceans. As researchers strive to discover more, we’re continually getting to know our oceans better.

When it comes to winning the fight against climate change the ocean is our best ally. The growth of MPA's and increasing essential education and awareness will go a long way towards protecting this essential ecosystem. Let’s work together to save the future of our ocean. #oceanfamilyfoundation #worldrise ...

UKSA ⛵️

A cross between windsurfing and snowboarding, Wingsurfing is a new watersport that's quickly taking flight and @uksasailing is offering one of the first accredited courses dedicated to it. Unlike windsurfing, the wing isn't attached to the board, but it is still controlled by the rider's hands whilst standing.

Wingsurfing provides the perfect platform to progress to the more advanced wingfoiling which has seen an explosion globally in the past year and has been confirmed for inclusion at the Paris 2024 Olympics 🥇. #oceanfamilyfoundation #uksa ...

OCEANS WITHOUT BORDERS 🌍

On 18th September, the Wildlife Ranger Challenge is happening. This is when the @oceanswithoutborders Marine Ranger team will unite with 186 other teams across Africa to compete in a 21 km running race to raise funds to support Africa's rangers working at the frontline to protect thousands of conservation landscapes and seascapes.

You can participate virtually by running or walking, or alternatively make a donation which will be doubled by the Scheinberg Relief Fund 👉🏼 https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/oceans-without-borders-2021 #oceanswithoutborders #oceanfamilyfoundation ...

MANGROVE PROTECTION 📝

Mangroves are important players in some of the greatest challenges facing the world today. They provide a defense between land and sea, absorb carbon, contribute to economic and food security, and are home to some of the most rare and colourful species.

But mangroves are disappearing at an accelerating rate. In some areas of the Western Indian Ocean region – one of the two most important global mangrove hotspots, together with Southeast Asia – more than 80% of mangroves have already been lost.

The United Nations (UN) Decade on Ecosystem Restoration is a global rallying cry to change our relationship with nature – from degradation to restoration. Here are things you can do to start bringing back mangroves today 🙌🏼.

🔹Understand the importance of mangroves

Mangroves are important protectors – sheltering land and coastal communities from storms, tsunamis, rising sea levels and erosion. And with the world at risk of a temperature rise of over 3°C this century, mangroves are also an invaluable ally in the race to adapt. They extract up to five times more carbon from the atmosphere than forests on land, and protecting mangroves is 1000 times less expensive, per kilometer, than building seawalls.

🔸 Understand what is driving their loss

Home to 40% of the world’s population, coastlines are among the most densely-populated areas on Earth. Consequent development of coastlines – clearing mangrove forests to create space for buildings, and to farm fish and shrimp – is the main driver of mangrove loss. Worldwide, this has caused the loss of 20% of mangrove ecosystems.

Pollution also plays a role. Because they form a protective line between coasts and ocean, mangroves are effectively a “plastic trap”. When plastic bags and litter cover roots and sediment layers, it can starve mangroves of oxygen; and can harm sea animals.

🔹 3. Make sustainable choices

The choices we make are a powerful way to express our values and to affect consumption and demand. Ask questions about the food you consume; choose foods that are sustainably sourced; say no to single-use plastic and reduce consumption in general. #oceanfamilyfoundation ...

MARINE PROTECTED AREAS 🗺

Marine protected areas are regions of the ocean designated to guard ecosystems that may be particularly crucial for preserving biodiversity or withstanding specific severe threats. Almost 8 percent of the ocean has been structured as MPAs, although less than half of that area is fully protected against fishing and loss of other resources.

Coverage is growing — for instance, in April 2021 the European Commission and 15 countries announced support for two MPAs that would protect more than 3 million square kilometers of the Southern Ocean off Antarctica.

Safeguarding marine environments, MPAs also offer major benefits to human communities, such as reestablishing fish populations that can be sustainably fished just outside their waters. #OceanFamilyFoundation ...

WELL MANAGED FISHERIES 🎣

In many areas, the ocean is dangerously overfished. But the world’s most valuable fisheries, which make up roughly 34% of global captures, are relatively healthy. There is good evidence that sustainable management is now being achieved for some species in some regions.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, 34.2% of the world’s marine fisheries are currently overfished, but harvests have held relatively steady for fisheries ranging from Alaska pollock to European sardines (pilchards) to Indian mackerel and yellowfin tuna.

On the high seas beyond national jurisdiction, fishing vessels largely operate without legal restrictions, and sometimes hundreds of vessels will target a given region and make huge hauls.

Such incidents may suggest that the unregulated high seas would be a tremendous threat to the sustainability of the world’s fisheries. Somewhat incredibly, this does not appear to be the case.

Among the likely explanations:

- high seas fishing accounts for only 6% of global fish catch

- pursuing highly mobile and unpredictable species such as tuna can be extremely expensive

- regional fisheries management organizations do watch over many catches in the high seas

The high seas may come under better control through a United Nations treaty on marine biodiversity, which may be finalized next year after many years of meetings. This would greatly broaden the international resources available for proper fisheries management anywhere on the ocean. #OceanFamilyFoundation ...

CONSERVATION EFFORTS 🐋

Coastal ecosystems have been wiped out on a grand scale; key ocean currents may be faltering; mining firms are preparing to rip up the deep seafloor to harvest precious minerals, with unknown ecological costs. And let's not even talk about ocean pollution.

But there’s good news, too, many marine conservation efforts around the globe are seeing good results. There are a lot of successes out there, and most people don’t know about them. It’s important to share those successes, to avoid paralyzing feelings of hopelessness and to spread the knowledge of approaches that work. For example:

An international moratorium on commercial whale hunting that started in the 1980s has shown dramatic results, even though a few species are still hunted by several countries and indigenous groups.

While some whale populations remain very much in trouble — the North Atlantic right whale, for instance, is critically endangered — others are rebounding. The population of humpback whales in the western South Atlantic, which had dropped to around 450 in the 1950s, now is estimated at around 25,000 — near the level, scientists estimate existed before hunting began.

The International Whaling Commission estimates the global population of these whales now may be around 120,000 animals. Blue, bowhead, fin, and sei whale populations are also growing globally, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

#oceanfamilyfoundation ...