My future will be blue.
Ocean is my passion. It is a source of pleasure, activity, a necessary presence to my life. As JF Kennedy said :
“I really don’t know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it’s because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it’s because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea — whether it is to sail or to watch it — we are going back from whence we came.
[Remarks at the Dinner for the America’s Cup Crews, September 14 1962]”
― John F. Kennedy
The Ocean
The Ocean is the source of many lives, it is the element that regulates the temperature on earth and absorbs a large part of earth produced CO2.
It has provided food, energy resources and a host of other benefits that have been taken for granted.
The ocean is a source of happiness and well-being for humankind.
However, it is no secret that the ocean has been under tremendous amount of pressure in the last forty years, ranging from the impact of climate change, pollution, depletion of fishes and other resources, acidification, warming, sea level raising and coral bleaching.
What is next?
There is a sense of panic. People around the world start to recognise that the earth’s health, the future of humanity and the ocean are closely interrelated and that the future of our planet as we known it may be at stake here.
Greta is striking around the world shaming governments on their inaction on climate change, numerous NGOs and people of good are starting actions on removing plastic and regulating the shipping industry , creating marine reserves and policing fishing .
The race has started and a few people of good will have investigaed projects, the corporate world is inegrating some ocean sustainability goals in their plans and investors are gearing toward investing toward the sustainability of the ocean. Governments are putting targets in ocean protection. The only chance to have a sufficient impact is to act quickly and on every front.
What are the areas to act on?
Cleaning…
The ocean needs to be liberated from marine debris, plastics, micropastics and other polluants. Peojects are being conducted to try cleaning the great plastic ocean patch and taking actions on the rivers in an aim to stop pollution and plastics to reach the ocean.
Regeneration…
The loss of reef and mangrove, pollution and overfishing mean that entire ecosystems need to be regeneraed such as reef are threatening the all need to be regenerated. New natural solutions such as the use of alguae are being investigated and in trial to regenerate and stop biodiversity loss.
Develop new ways…
The Ocean will be a new source of food production , energy and pleasure but in a new way. Aquaculture may be one of the fastest growing segment and new species such as algaea, sea cucumber and jellyfish may be more extensively used to provide food, cosmetic products and medications. The ocean will help to lower the strain on land by producing new sources of proteins and nutrients.
Protect…
Industry bodies, in partnership with governments, may have to develop more stringent rules and targets. They will be using a host of new technologies and innovations to monitor the progress and enforce the respect of the legislation. New technologies such as AI, blockchains are offering a host of possibilities such as the seafood traceability or the monitoring of migration and well-being of marine species. The applications are endless.
What will be my role?…
I have embarked on a journey to understand some of these challenges and opportunities and to initiate some positive and material actions in several of these domains. This blog will be following my journey in meeting people around the world, attending conferences creating or joining teams and developing projects and actions toward a more sustainable ocean.
My future will be blue.