{"id":1586,"date":"2024-11-15T22:21:15","date_gmt":"2024-11-15T22:21:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/?page_id=1586"},"modified":"2025-09-23T10:29:19","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T10:29:19","slug":"oceans","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/oceans\/","title":{"rendered":"Protect the oceans"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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\"Hawksbill<\/figure>
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Protect the oceans<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

For centuries, people have assumed that our vast ocean was limitless and immune to human impacts. It\u2019s only recently that scientists have come to understand the devastating effects we\u2019ve already had on the seas.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n

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The oceans are in more trouble than ever before<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Right now it is estimated that up to 12 million metric tons of plastic<\/strong>\u2014everything from plastic bottles and bags to microbeads\u2014end up in the oceans each year. That\u2019s a truckload of trash every minute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traveling on ocean currents, this plastic is now turning up in every corner of our planet<\/strong>, from Florida beaches to uninhabited Pacific islands. It is even being found in the deepest part of the ocean and trapped in Arctic ice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The oceans are slowly turning into a plastic soup, and the effects on ocean life are devastating. Plastic pieces of all sizes choke and clog the stomachs of creatures who mistake it for food, from tiny zooplankton to whales. Plastic is now entering every level of the ocean food chain and is even ending up in the seafood on our plates<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it doesn\u2019t have to be this way. That\u2019s why we are campaigning to end the flow of single-use plastic into our oceans.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Plastic<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n\n\n
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\"Humpback<\/figure>
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How we protect the oceans<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We are calling on big corporations to act to reduce their plastic footprint<\/strong>\u2014and stop producing plastic packaging that is designed to be used for just a few minutes before it ends up in landfills, incinerators and out polluting our environment for a lifetime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re also working hard to address other serious threats facing our oceans. Unsustainable industrial fishing<\/strong> is destroying habitats and endangering countless species. The climate crisis and ocean acidification<\/a>\u2014both the result of our reliance on fossil fuels\u2014are having more and more extreme impacts on ocean health. Today, overfishing and bycatch kills about 63 billion pounds of marine animals every year. Human activity is disrupting the balance of marine ecosystems across the globe. The impacts on humans are equally severe. Overfishing compromises food security and the livelihoods of fishing communities. Human trafficking and forced labor remain huge problems on many fishing fleets.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

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We\u2019re also working to protect the oceans through a network of sanctuaries<\/a>. Globally, less than 2 percent of the ocean is under protection. We\u2019re campaigning to establish ocean sanctuaries in 30 percent of the world\u2019s oceans by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These sanctuaries will preserve biodiversity, help endangered species recover, and give marine life a fighting chance to survive the rapid changes we are causing to the planet. Ocean sanctuaries can also help replenish fish populations decimated by overfishing. This would mean a more dependable food supply for the billions of people who get some of their protein from seafood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists say the wave of extinction facing the ocean in the coming century could be the worst since the dinosaur age. If we don\u2019t change the way we do things, and fast, we are on track to cause irreversible damage to the ocean<\/strong> and the collapse of some of the most important food sources in the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

If we work together, a world that respects our oceans, their inhabitants, and the people who depend on them is in our reach. We want a better future for our oceans and the people that depend on them. Learn more about our campaign to protect the oceans and ways you can get involved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n

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Learn more about…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Deep sea mining<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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\"Bycatch
A shark is hauled in as bycatch by crew onboard an Iranian flagged vessel fishing for tuna in the Northern Indian Ocean.\n\nThese vessels often fish for tuna with 7 mile long gill nets, fishing with a gill net over 1.5 miles is illegal.\n\nGreenpeace is in the Northern Indian Ocean to bear witness to the destructive fishing practices of under documented fishing fleets which it is estimated cause the bycatch of 80-100,000 cetaceans per year.<\/figcaption>
\u00a9 Abbie Trayler-Smith \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Protecting workers & wildlife at sea<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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\"\u2018Ocean
Greenpeace USA activists unfurl a giant banner reading \u2018Ocean Treaty Now!\u2019 to send a clear message to delegates at the United Nations in New York at the start of the second week of the resumed IGC5 negotiations.\n\nWithout a strong Treaty being agreed at this round of talks, it will be practically impossible to protect 30% of the world\u2019s oceans by 2030. This is the minimum scientists say is necessary to allow the oceans to recover from decades of pollution, overfishing, and other industrial activities.<\/figcaption>
\u00a9 Stephanie Keith \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The Global Oceans Treaty<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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The threats facing our oceans get more urgent every day. The vast areas outside countries\u2019 national waters are in the most danger, as they don\u2019t have any proper protection, which leaves whales, turtles and dolphins at risk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scientists have a new rescue plan for our oceans: a global network of ocean sanctuaries<\/strong> that would put millions of square miles off limits to destructive industries. But to make that happen, world governments must ratify the Global Ocean Treaty at the United Nations in 2025. We need as many people as possible to show these decision-makers why ocean protection matters.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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