World governments and other leadership bodies are taking vital steps to protect the ocean but more progress is urgently needed, Oregon State University scientists reported today at the eighth Our Ocean Conference in Athens.
World governments and other leadership bodies are taking vital steps to protect the ocean but more progress is urgently needed, Oregon State University scientists reported today at the eighth Our Ocean Conference in Athens.
“Highly protected areas can safeguard against destructive activities such as high-impact fishing, mining and drilling, allowing marine life to recover and in many cases support nearby human communities,” OSU’s Kirsten Grorud-Colvert said. “We’re honored to be invited to share this evidence with world leaders – they are making decisions that directly affect the ocean and the people that depend on it.”
Grorud-Colvert and Jenna Sullivan-Stack, marine ecologists in the OSU College of Science, told global leaders from the public and private sectors that almost half – 3.7 million square miles – of the currently protected ocean area stems from commitments made at earlier versions of the annual conference, first held in 2014, that was established by John Kerry when he was U.S. secretary of state.
Read more at: Oregon State University
Diving picture of Mediterranean monk seal, Gokova Bay, Turkey. (Photo Credit: Zafer Kizilkaya)
