Text by Kathy A. McDonald
Images courtesy of Oceana
Earth’s oceans play a vital role in sustaining life. Protecting these sensitive environments is the core mission of Oceana, the largest international non-profit dedicated to ocean conservation. Backed by data and science, the organization works to foster policies and legislation which protect the world’s fisheries and endangered mammals such as Atlantic right whales. Now in 12 countries from the U.S. to the Philippines, the group continues to expand and support new technology to stop overfishing, oil and plastic pollution and the killing of threatened species from Soupfin sharks to California’s once prevalent giant sea bass.
“We view plastics as one of the key existential, long-term threats to the health of the ocean,” explains Geoff Shester, Oceana California campaign director and senior scientist. The Monterey, California-based marine biologist’s work includes leading underwater expeditions documenting the vibrant corals and indigenous fishes surrounding California’s eight Channel Islands, regarded as the Galapagos Islands of North America.
Plastic waste endangers underwater ecosystems. It’s a well-established eco-fact that festive balloons pose risks to sea creatures but they are only the tip of the problem. “We’re seeing plastic at the deepest parts of Monterey Canyon to the floating Pacific garbage patch to plastics washing up over remote beaches and even throughout the water column,” he says. Often in micro-plastic form, these pollutants can be systematically traced back to one-use consumer plastics.
In California, Oceana aided in the negotiations for Senate Bill (SB)54. The legislation requires packaging manufacturers to reduce the use of polystyrene foodware, single-use plastics and eventually (by 2035) manufacture compostable and verified recyclable products.
As an ocean advocacy group, the main concern overall is ocean viability. However, the reality is the world’s oceans are deeply impacted and increasingly threatened by human activities above and beyond the water. Hence Oceana’s attention to plastic waste and effectively dealing with its root causes.
While it might seem incongruous for marine biologists to become experts in plastics, over the last decade, Oceana’s scientists have come to understand waste management, plastics production and food production to better protect the health of the globe’s sea water which cover 70% of the earth’s surface. “It is the things that we do on land that are determining what the result is in our oceans, because the oceans, unfortunately, are the ultimate downstream from our activities upstream,” points out Shester.
Oceana tackles reducing plastic pollution at its source. The non-profit continues to encourage e-retailer Amazon to reduce its reliance on plastic packaging, estimated at 208 million pounds in 2022 in the U.S. alone. An estimated 22 million pounds of Amazon’s plastic packaging globally will become marine pollution, Oceana found via a 2024 study.
In California, Oceana aided in the negotiations for Senate Bill (SB) 54. The legislation requires packaging manufacturers to reduce the use of polystyrene foodware, single-use plastics and eventually (by 2035) manufacture compostable and verified recyclable products. “We’re trying to make progress that is actually turning the tide and shifting us towards reducing use,” explains Shester of the legislative policies. Raising consumer consciousness regarding plastic waste and encouraging reusable and refillable product systems are also on the agenda.
Protecting endangered marine animals from gillnet fishing is another prong of the group’s efforts and where they’ve had success in changing the status quo. (Gillnets are drifting, mile-long, mesh nets beneath the surface that indiscriminately capture wildlife from the intended catch to what’s known as bycatch, collateral creatures like sea turtles and even whales that are caught inadvertently).
To reduce the negative environmental impacts of gillnets, Oceana studied and helped develop an alternative for the U.S. West Coast’s swordfish fishery called deep-set buoy gear, which is specific to catching swordfish. “Essentially it’s a smarter way to fish,” Shester explains of the deep-water line with baited hooks that’s retrievable due to a flotation device. Adding, “We’re not trying to get rid of fisheries off our coast. We want to support our local fishing communities, and we have partnerships with fisherman that are that are doing things more responsibly,” he says.
Additionally on the U.S. West Coast, Oceana is working towards reducing whale entanglements—when the marine mammals become entangled in fishing gear, which prevents them from surfacing to breathe or descending to feed. During Dungeness crab season, whales often become entangled in the vertical fishing lines between crab traps and surface buoys. Oceana funded and studied through 2,000 real world trials, ropeless gear and pop-up buoys. Shester explains how the novel technological solution works: Dungeness crab traps remain down on the seafloor until the fisherman is ready to pull it up aided by underwater acoustic signals (essentially a kind of underwater cell phone) that calls up the gear allowing it to surface when the fisherman are nearby.
Rather than whales swimming through thousands of these lines (and there are tens of thousands of crab traps out there during the season) the traps are ropeless until needed. “What this technology allows us to do is get the fisherman back out on the water and restore the ability to keep fishing in a way that’s whale safe.” Local seafood stays available for consumers and the environment is protected—a win for all concerned.
Oceana: Setting sail to save the ocean. “The main thing is not to get discouraged.”
The enormity of the issues Oceana faces on behalf of the world’s oceans is daunting. Thinking positively and being optimistic about the ability of companies, governments and consumers to change course is key for organizers. “There is still a lot left to protect,” contends Shester.
Even 60 years ago, single use plastics were not in such widespread use; food can be packaged differently (think reusable water bottles and such); the marketplace can encourage the availability of refillable containers. Amazon has already reduced its use of plastic air pillows in packages, governments can adopt more protections for sensitive marine habitats and consumers can demand sustainably caught seafood. Says Shester, “The main thing is not to get discouraged.”
Oceana’s popular YouTube channel offers a wealth of information on sea creatures, habitats and the organization’s global advocacy efforts. For up-to-date information, follow Oceana on Instagram, Facebook or X. Find their website at oceana.org.
