Reasons Ocean Conservation is Important
Selfish Reasons to Protect the Ocean and How the Seas Benefit People
Aug 18, 2009
The ocean is an exciting place filled with unusual creatures. However, beyond its intrinsic beauty the sea is also vital to human health. People are dependent on the ocean for food, oxygen, medicines and more. Studying this vast habitat and working to protect it should be important not only to marine biology students and environmentalists, but to anyone who breathes, eats, or ever gets sick. There are plenty of reasons to protect the ocean.
Ocean Conservation Saves Lives with New Medications
Ocean resources save lives as an increasing number of scientists are realizing. The horseshoe crab is one marine creature commonly used in medicine, reports the University of Delaware in “The Horseshoe Crab—Putting Science to Work to Help ‘Man’s Best Friend’”. No intravenous drug is used in a hospital without first being tested for bacteria with a sample of horseshoe crab blood reports the article. Further, in February 2003 NPR reported in "Prospecting Beneath the Seas" that scientists had found numerous creatures in the seafloor mud that could be used to create antibiotics and even fight cancer. As new research is performed new uses for the oceans resources will surely be discovered. It is important to protect the ocean in the meantime.
Half of World’s Oxygen Comes From Ocean
The ocean is important to the carbon cycle, recycling the world’s carbon dioxide and producing oxygen. In fact, as NASA points out in its September 2006 post “Nine Years of Ocean Chlorophyll" about half the oxygen humans breathe come from the ocean’s phytoplankton. Vital to the existence of life on earth, phytoplankton are single celled marine plants that are also an important part of the marine food web. Understanding phytoplankton is essential given its huge impact on human life.
Protect the Ocean as a Food Source
Perhaps the most obvious reason to protect the ocean is its role as a food source. Millions of people enjoy eating fish and dietitians are increasingly calling fish a healthy food for its omega-3s. The American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) notes in their Atlas of Population & Environment that humans receive 16% of their animal protein from the ocean. Further, they note that roughly half a billion people depend on marine harvests for their livelihood. Unfortunately, fish stocks around the world are collapsing with half of the world’s fisheries being harvested beyond a sustainable yield. This threatens many fish populations including the delicious but critically endangered bluefin tuna.
Ocean Conservation and Eco-tourism
Many people appreciate the ocean for aesthetic, spiritual, and recreational reasons; and these folks are willing to pay money to be near the sea. This is good for those who live near the ocean and can sell eco-tourism services. The Australian Government reports that the Great Barrier Reef alone brings in AUS$4.3 billion per year through tourism on its Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority FAQs page. Many more people around the world and in developing countries depend on marine tourism to make a living. However, it is important to conserve marine resources even as people appreciate them so that they can last into the future.
Time to Protect the Ocean
The oceans are under threat – pollution, global warming, and over fishing are driving down fish stocks and marring the beauty of the sea. The ocean should be protected out of respect and the intrinsic right marine creatures have to live. Yet for those not buying these reasons for ocean conservation, there are plenty of economic and biological reasons humans need the sea.
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