For June 8 celebration, the world’s leading global certification standard for marine life sustainability shares easy-to-follow recommendations for protecting oceans
Friend of the Sea, the preeminent global certification standard for products and services that respect and protect the marine environment, is honoring the annual World Oceans Day on June 8 by sharing five things people can do to save the ocean. These include buying certified products, no longer buying unsustainable products, patronizing certified ocean activities, using sustainable sunscreen and helping take care of beaches. These easy-to-follow recommendations will help keep the ocean clean and sustainable.
“We salute the spirit of World Oceans Day,” said Paolo Bray, Director of Friend ofthe Sea. “The event creates a wonderful opportunity to raise everyone’s awareness of the ocean and its role in our lives—which should help us all become more aware of the importance of sustainability. The ocean belongs to all of us, and its health will affect us all.” World Oceans Day aligns with similar programs like Ocean Unite’s “30×30” initiative, which urges the world to designate 30% of the oceans as protected areas by 2030.
In general, the goal of the day is to reduce plastic, acidification and acoustic pollution in the ocean, raise awareness and promote sustainable policies. Friend of the Sea’s five specific recommendations are as follows:
1. Buy only certified sustainable seafood products, such as those bearing the Friend of the Sea logo. The producers must adhere to strict environmental standards to achieve and maintain certification.
2. Stop buying unsustainable products, such as shark fins, sea horses and corals harvested in an unsustainable way. Friend of the Sea has launched petitions to protect these species, along with other that are affected by overfishing and bycatch such as albatross, penguins and sea turtles.
3. Pay attention to your carbon footprint and travel the ocean responsibly, patronizing certified programs such as whale and dolphin watching expeditions certified by Friend of the Sea. The standard sets a maximum number of vessels in the area at any one time. It limits maximum approach speed and distance between the boats and the dolphins. At the same time, it prohibits swimming with the animals and the use of mono-use plastics on board the tour boats.
4. Use sustainable and ecofriendly UV sunscreen.
5. Help take care of the beach and participate in beach cleaning projects.
