Without the oceans there would be no life on Earth, it's that simple. Despite this, they are increasingly threatened by the impacts of human activity and climate change. Unsustainable and illegal fishing, coastal management, maritime traffic and pollution have affected them for decades.

Today, different marine species are endangered and there are destroyed marine habitats. But perhaps the most serious thing is that ecosystems are losing their natural ability to recover.

More than 3 billion people depend on marine and coastal biodiversity for their livelihoods. Our destiny and the destiny of our oceans are intimately connected. It is time to stop its destruction.

By a conservative estimate, the goods and services they provide, from fishing to tourism to coastal protection, are worth at least US$2.5 trillion per year. That would make the oceans the seventh largest economy in the world. And they could play an even bigger role in the livelihoods of people in developing countries, but only if we use them sustainably.

Why are the oceans essential?
• Influence the most important meteorological phenomena
• Regulate the climate
• They provide us with proteins, energy, minerals and other essential products.
• The rolling of the sea around the planet creates more than half of our oxygen
• They carry masses of water that exceed all the rivers on earth combined.
• They are the habitat and migration corridors of whales, sharks, turtles and other species.

Our vision

We work to have healthy oceans and seas, with recovered fish populations and well-preserved marine ecosystems. In addition, we support fishing communities so that they can live from sustainable fishing.

What do we propose?

• Establish marine sanctuaries. In this way, fishing, oil and gas extraction, and the operations of other extractive industries would be prohibited in protected areas.
• Create the largest protected area in the world in the Antarctic Ocean (1.8 million square kilometres)
• Protect at least 30% of the world's oceans by 2030
• We ask the United Nations to adopt an international ocean treaty that protects the waters of the high seas and the seabed below them.
• End any type of commercial whaling
• Stop illegal urbanism on the coasts
• Implement sustainable fishing policies
• Fight illegal fishing
• Defend the human rights of those who work on fishing boats.
• Stop pollution in the oceans
• Control maritime traffic
• Put an end to mining on the seabed
• Prevent ocean acidification (occurs when the oceans absorb carbon dioxide, which lowers the pH of the sea)

Source: Greenpeace