Cherilyn Mackrory MP invites everyone in Truro and Falmouth and across the UK to celebrate World Ocean Day.
Celebrated every June 8th since 1992, World Ocean Day has rallied the world for ocean and climate action. The movement works in partnership with youth leaders, zoos, aquariums, museums, and other youth-focused organizations, as well as a huge range of diverse organizations and businesses from all sectors in a growing global network. Working alongside the public, policy makers, and businesses, their goal is to promote the protection and restoration of the world’s oceans and create a stable climate.
Cherilyn said: I love to swim in the sea. It’s good exercise, and great for your mental health and wellbeing. We all win when the sea is healthy, not just here in Cornwall but everywhere else too. So get out there this year, and enjoy the sea.
This year World Ocean Day is promoting conservation action and the goal of protecting at least 30% of our blue planet by 2030 for a healthy ocean and environment. This objective is central to the UK government’s ocean conservation strategy outlined by Boris Johnson at the G7 summit before COP15. This target formed the basis of the 2023 High Seas Treaty which places oceans into protected areas and restricts damaging activities such as sea mining and over-fishing and helps promote biodiversity. The UK was instrumental also in delivering the Global Plastic Treaty to tackle plastic pollution and keep our oceans clean for the future.
The territorial waters controlled by UK overseas amounts to 2% of the world’s oceans surfaces, an area 9x the total marine area of the UK. The government considers ocean recovery to be an economic opportunity. Currently our fishing industry has a value of £989 million, supporting 12,000 full and part-time fishers. Protected coastal ecosystems will capture carbon emissions and help protect coastlines from erosion and flooding worth £6bn annually. The government has had great success with the Blue Belt scheme, a pioneering project to help protect oceans around the world through targeting conservation efforts.
So why not get involved! Our oceans are on our doorstep, and between all of us we can do our part through local projects, international action, or just by doing your bit to celebrate World Ocean Day and help keep the oceans safe for all of us, forever.