Ocean Conservancy strives to create long-term change with multiple approaches

This donation quarter Foundation Beyond Belief is featuring an exceptional charity with a vast target but concrete goals. Ocean Conservancy engages citizens to step in and become involved in making the ocean and it’s wildlife protected for future generations.

As elementary school education succeeded in teaching us, the Earth is almost three-quarters covered by oceans (71% to be exact) which provide us with many resources, supplies, and numerous ecosystems–from estuaries to beaches, to deep sea trenches. It is estimated that approximately 2,300,000 jobs are created due to America’s coastal economies and oceans. Ocean fisheries capture approximately 118 million tons of fish, crustaceans, and mollusks each year. Unfortunately, the ocean is also home to a large amount of humanity's garbage.

The ocean is very important to humanity and faces many issues that are directly caused by human actions so it 's clear that something needs to be done. Though it’s a large undertaking, Ocean Conservancy is recruiting individuals, groups, and partners to make the ocean a safer and healthier place for the creatures that rely on it. It supports good science and sustainable solutions to the problems that face our oceans. For example, it has cooperated with fisherman and endorsed policies that offer sustainable regulations on fisheries. To ameliorate the ever-present matter of the Texas-sized island of trash in the pacific ocean–and even larger amount is beneath the surface of the water and away from the public eye–Ocean Conservancy launched the International Coastal Cleanup, mobilizing people from numerous different countries to form the world’s largest volunteering effort to keep the ocean clean.

Ocean Conservancy uses so many avenues to alleviate the stresses on the ocean that a mere summary of each individual one could be pages long. In addition to cleaning up trash that would make its way into the ocean and supporting sustainable fisheries, it also raises the growing issue of ocean acidification. Seawater absorbs a significant amount of the carbon dioxide in the air, which, were stable levels of carbon dioxide in the air, would not be a problem, but in the midst of anthropogenic climate change, poses a serious threat to the delicate ocean ecosystems. Ocean Conservancy works with its partners to support the local and regional actions that address ocean acidification, such as reducing carbon dioxide emissions and reducing runoff into the ocean.

Though we are familiar and supportive of national parks, rarely do we think of the underwater ecological systems that may also need the same protection that society offers terrestrial ecosystems. That is why Ocean Conservancy contributes to the formations of marine parks, protected underwater areas that allow fish to develop larger and healthier, become more abundant and replenish the more feeble populations suffering from overfishing. It seems like such an easy concept to translate from land to sea, yet it was not one that many have considered before hearing about it. Ocean Conservancy, however, has been ahead of the game. For over twenty years, it has been fighting for marine protected areas, specifically the Tortuga Ecological Reserve and the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Ocean Conservancy takes almost every route possible to create effective and lasting change. It has been in existence for over forty years and its ends for meeting its goals have been successful mainly due to the fact that its mission emphasizes using solid science to create objectives and change. It makes smart decisions for the marine environment, which cannot speak for itself. Ocean Conservancy’s motto is that it only takes one person to make a difference to our ocean and that is an expression that they truly work to make a reality through their actions.

We encourage you to watch the video below to learn more about this important work.