Large number of small fishes swimming through sea water

5 ways to help save our oceans.

The 'Blue Heart' of the planet is home to about 97% of life on Earth. The ocean generates the oxygen we breathe, regulates our climate, forms clouds that give us rain, and provides habitat for some of the most incredible creatures in the world. It's our life support system, yet less than 1% of it is protected.

Animals Australia

Animals Australia team

Last updated March 3, 2017

Meet oceanographer Sylvia Earle. She has been exploring the depths for over 40 years and has spent more than 6,000 hours under the waves. She wants us to know why we should all be concerned about sustaining the health of the ocean.

With 90% of the oceans’ large fish now gone, is the answer just to stop eating fish? Not exactly. As Captain Paul Watson has pointed out, the largest predatory ocean bird is now chicken, which eat more fish than puffins and albatross together. The biggest threat to fish populations, wild and farmed, is livestock. Factory farmed animals consume more fish than all humans on the planet.

But it’s not too late to act. Simple yet critical decisions we each can make will help restore the balance to Earth’s precious life support system. Here’s how…

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Turtle swimming in the ocean

5 Important Ways to Help Save Our Oceans

  1. Eat for tomorrow
    Reducing or eliminating animal products from your diet is the single most powerful thing you can do as a consumer to ease the stress on our oceans. Fish have feelings too and suffer just as much as animals on factory farms. Not only that, fish are fed to pigs, chickens — even other fish in fish farms — in numbers that are wiping out ocean ecosystems. 
  2. Say NO to plastic bags
    Every piece of plastic ever made still exists. There are approximately 46,000 pieces of plastic floating in each square mile of the world’s oceans. Think of the marine animals next time you shop.
  3. Step up for sharks
    Don’t support restaurants that serve Shark Fin Soup, and help end cruel shark netting and baiting in Australia by taking action here.
  4. Eat organic
    It’s better for you, and the planet. There are 146 dead zones identified in the world’s oceans that are primarily caused by chemical fertilisers in run off.
  5. Spread the word
    Share this story with your friends.
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