Why We Fight
The ocean is our life support system – no ocean, no future!
The Future of All Life
The ocean is the source of all life on our planet, and it continues to be the life support system for all life on our planet. Yes, no matter where you live, your life and your future are dependent upon a healthy ocean.
- The threats to the ocean and ocean wildlife are unprecedented, increasing, and existential – truly an “Ocean Emergency!”
- Making all other threats to the ocean even worse, criminal networks of poachers and traffickers have declared war on ocean wildlife.
- This destructive reality is why the Ocean Warrior Society is taking the lead as the Tip of the Trident℠ in a necessary Global War on Poaching.
- The future of all life on this planet is on the line, and this is a fight that we simply cannot afford to lose. The clock is ticking, and the time to act is NOW!
The High Seas Treaty
In a historic step to protect and preserve the ocean, the world came together on June 19, 2023, to sign a landmark agreement on Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction (aka the High Seas Treaty).
- The high seas begin where countries’ 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zones end, account for more than two-thirds of the ocean and nearly half the surface of the planet, are home to remarkable ecosystems and a stunning range of biodiversity, and serve as important migratory routes for many species.
- Due to current monitoring and enforcement challenges, less than 1% of the high seas are fully or highly protected.
- The High Seas Treaty will provide the legal framework and a clear process for establishing networks of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) around the world.
- On December 19, 2022, the world also came together and agreed to protect 30% of land, inland waterways, and ocean by 2030, and successful implementation of the High Seas Treaty will be critical to achieving the 30% ocean protection target.
"This is not going to be easy; this is not just a pretty please process. It’s gonna be a fight, and we’ve all gotta understand how important it is to fight . . . to be able to get this done . . . We bless ourselves with the hope that everything’s going to be fine with our oceans, but very frankly it doesn’t mean a damn thing unless we’re all willing to fight for it. Your participation in this Ocean Day tells me that you are willing to make that fight. A fight that is so critical for our planet, for our oceans, and for future generations.”
Secretary of Defense and CIA Director
30 by 30
As mentioned, 196 countries participating in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity recently adopted the Global Biodiversity Framework which includes an agreement to protect at least 30% percent of the ocean by 2030 (aka 30 by 30).
- Today, only 2.9% of the ocean is fully or highly protected. Again, only 2.9%!
- Full implementation of the High Seas Treaty and Global Biodiversity Framework’s 30 by 30 will be an unprecedented conservation achievement and add 38 million square miles of MPAs, a nine-fold increase from today.
- Key to the success of these ecologically-vital, global initiatives will be the ability to monitor the newly-established MPAs and enforce their protected status.
Marine Protected Areas
Research shows that the most highly protected and strictly enforced MPAs generate the greatest conservation benefits. In fact, one study showed such MPAs having 670% more fish biomass than the surrounding, unprotected areas.
- MPAs have been an increasingly successful tool for protecting existing biodiversity and healthy ecosystems and for helping with the recovery of areas that have suffered significant degradation.
- Not surprisingly, MPAs that are less protected and/or enforced are targeted by poachers and exploited via illegal fishing.
- Again, full implementation of these two previously mentioned global initiatives will add 38 million square miles of MPAs, nine times the current protected area.
- Today, there are inadequate resources to protect existing MPAs, and this shortfall will only become worse with the massive expansion of MPAs over the next decade.
Life on the Line
The ocean is the source of all life on our planet, and it continues to be the life support system for all life on our planet.
- The future of all life on this planet is literally on the line due to the unprecedented, increasing, and existential threats to the ocean and ocean wildlife.
- This is why the Ocean Warrior Society will be on the frontlines every day around the world fighting to protect and preserve the ocean and our future.
- Thankfully, there is still time for us to save the ocean and save ourselves.
- An Ocean Decade has been declared, and we need you and others like you to step up, speak out, and take action! ONE OCEAN, ONE FIGHT!℠
