By Edgardo Ochoa
August 20, 2020
5 ways you can help protect the ocean — in and out of the water
8 min
Edgardo Ochoa is the marine and diving safety officer at Conservation International.
Throughout my career, I have been on more than 5,000 dives, logging countless hours underwater and marveling at the wealth of biodiversity at each site that I visit.
Whether I am visiting Cocos Island in Costa Rica or the island of Ouvéa in New Caledonia, for me, nothing compares to the feeling of plunging into crystal-clear waters on a dive and witnessing mosaics of colorful coral, spotting small crabs poking their heads out from the sand and even catching a rare glimpse of a tiger shark.
Unfortunately, there is only one thing I can expect to see on every expedition: plastic.
But you can help prevent an even more plastic-filled future for our oceans. Here are 5 tips to get you started.
1. Don’t buy it in the first place (but if you do, reuse it)
2. Do a mental checklist every time you shop
On a dive to the Lau Islands in Fiji, nearly 300 km (186.4 miles) from the nearest city, I was shocked to find bottle caps washing up on the shore of an uninhabited beach — which left me wondering: How is it possible to find this much waste in the middle of the ocean?
The explanation is that almost all of the waste created by the products you purchase or throw away leads back to the ocean. But you can help change that.
Whether you are going to the grocery store or picking up a new piece of furniture, every time you go shopping, you should run through a series of questions in your head: Is this item reusable? Where was it produced? Is it made with recycled materials? Is it sustainable?
3. Shop for food locally — and sustainably
Along with supporting small businesses, shopping locally can help minimize your diet’s impact on the ocean. Locally sourced food typically does not require as many packaging materials as many of the options you may find in the grocery store and it does not have to travel as far, meaning that its carbon footprint is much lower than foods that are transported in gas-guzzling planes, trains and trucks.
4. Shrink your carbon footprint
Further reading:
Stay close to the work
