5 methods you’ll be able to assist shield the ocean — out and in of the water

Edgardo Ochoa is the marine and diving security officer at Conservation Worldwide. 

All through my profession, I’ve been on greater than 5,000 dives, logging numerous hours underwater and marveling on the wealth of biodiversity at every website that I go to. 

Whether or not I’m visiting Cocos Island in Costa Rica or the island of Ouvéa in New Caledonia, for me, nothing compares to the sensation of plunging into crystal-clear waters on a dive and witnessing mosaics of colourful coral, recognizing small crabs
poking their heads out from the sand and even catching a uncommon glimpse of a tiger shark. 

Sadly, there is just one factor I can count on to see on each expedition: plastic. 

Latest research present that plastic has invaded each nook of the Earth, from glaciers within the Arctic to
the sands of the Sahara. It’s not stunning to seek out plastic bottles, snack packages,
deserted fishing gear and lots of different items of waste floating alongside stunning corals and faculties of fish. 

However you’ll be able to assist stop an much more plastic-filled future for our oceans. Listed here are 5 tricks to get you began.

That is my No. 1 advice for anybody who desires to assist shield the ocean. Practically 8 million metric tons of plastic and waste are
dumped into the ocean yearly, together with huge quantities of air pollution from different sources resembling oil and fuel. Based mostly on present tendencies, plastic is anticipated to triple inside the subsequent 20 years, including as much as 50 kg (110 kilos) of plastic waste alongside each meter of the world’s
coastlines.

Whereas recycling is essential, decreasing your plastic use is the simplest strategy to stop new plastic from getting into the ocean. Wherever you’ll be able to, attempt to purchase merchandise that may be reused many occasions, resembling meals storage containers, baggage and even face
masks. A latest research revealed that roughly 129 billion face masks and 65 billion gloves have been used every month for the reason that pandemic started
— and most of that single-use medical waste results in the ocean, the place it may be ingested by species resembling seabirds and sea turtles that confuse it for meals. To forestall this, just be sure you are correctly disposing of COVID-19 waste
and, at any time when it’s protected, attempt to use reusable face masks and ask eating places to not provide you with plastic utensils when you find yourself ordering take-out meals.

On a dive to the Lau Islands in Fiji, almost
300 km (186.4 miles) from the closest metropolis, I used to be shocked to seek out bottle caps washing up on the shore of an uninhabited seashore — which left me questioning: How is it attainable to seek out this a lot waste in the midst of the ocean? 

The reason is that just about all the waste created by the merchandise you buy or throw away leads again to the ocean. However you’ll be able to assist change that.

Whether or not you will the grocery retailer or selecting up a brand new piece of furnishings, each time you buy groceries, you need to run by a sequence of questions in your head: Is that this merchandise reusable? The place was it produced? Is it made with recycled supplies?
Is it sustainable? 

At first, this course of added a couple of minutes to my journey, however now I do know precisely what to search for to make sure that an merchandise is having as little influence on the ocean as attainable. For merchandise resembling spices, jellies, pasta sauce and salsa, glass jars supply
a extra sustainable various to plastic containers. Every year, I additionally attempt to keep away from shopping for new seasonal or holiday-related gadgets resembling Halloween costumes, which generate round 2,000 metric tons of plastic waste yearly in the UK alone. 

Edgardo Ochoa with a plastic bottle cap discovered within the waters surrounding the Lau Islands in Fiji (© CONSERVATION INTERNATIONAL/KATIE BRYDEN)

3. Store for meals regionally — and sustainably 

Together with supporting small companies, purchasing regionally will help decrease your weight-reduction plan’s influence on the ocean. Regionally sourced meals sometimes doesn’t require as many packaging supplies as lots of the choices chances are you’ll discover within the grocery retailer
and it doesn’t must journey as far, which means that its carbon footprint is far decrease than meals which might be transported in gas-guzzling planes, trains and vans. 

When you find yourself ordering or buying seafood, ask the waiter or fish monger how your fish was imported or caught to make sure that it was produced utilizing environmentally sustainable strategies and is socially accountable, which signifies that the employees concerned
in its manufacturing have been protected against human rights violations. Just by asking these questions, you’ve the facility to carry seafood distributors accountable for his or her practices and might present them that buyers care about the place their sushi is coming
from. Some chains resembling Walmart and Complete Meals already label their seafood to make sure its sustainability, however there are additionally cellphone apps that may show you how to hint your seafood from the ocean to your plate.

A 2019 UN report revealed that local weather change is pushing the world’s oceans to the brink — and that they might turn into sizzling, stratified and acidic if people don’t drastically cut back their carbon emissions. To chop your personal carbon footprint, a couple of good
locations to start out are switching to renewable power in your house or selecting to stroll and cycle as a substitute of drive. Motor automobiles launch small quantity of oil and fuel every day that may run off into the ocean — so swapping your automobile for a motorcycle
a couple of occasions every week may assist stop air pollution. If driving is completely essential, attempt to keep away from additional journeys by planning your path to run your whole errands without delay. 

It’s also possible to neutralize your carbon footprint altogether by buying carbon offsets,
that are reductions in greenhouse fuel emissions to compensate for emissions made elsewhere. These offsets help conservation actions resembling forest restoration or reforestation that naturally retailer or take away carbon from the environment. 

• What number of emissions are you releasing annually? Use Conservation Worldwide’s carbon footprint calculator to seek out out — then offset your emissions.  

A part of my job as Conservation Worldwide’s marine and diving security officer is to share methods with divers and our companions to assist them give again to the ocean each time they dive. I not too long ago co-authored and developed a brand new course with
the Skilled Affiliation of Diving Instructors to show divers methods to safely take away waste from the ocean whereas they’re underwater. There are greater than 6 million lively leisure divers worldwide. If everybody picked up only one piece of deserted fishing gear or trash every time they went diving, it might be a monumental profit to the worldwide initiative to wash up the ocean. However you don’t must be a diver to assist clear
up trash. Practically 80 % of the waste that pollutes the ocean comes from land, so even should you don’t reside anyplace close to the ocean, your
trash if in all probability nonetheless discovering its manner there. Whether or not you’re on strolling by the streets or strolling alongside the seashore, attempt to decide up and get rid of waste wherever you notice it. 

Edgardo Ochoa retrieving discarded fishing gear on a dive in Malpelo island, Colombia ((© Conservation Worldwide/Edgardo Ochoa)