May 2020
OCEANA
RED supports the third, and last NGO, that works purely on the world’s oceans – to protect and restore them - Oceana .
We decided today to make the last donation, from book sales for 2019 to OCEANA.
Formed originally from a group of leading US foundations, after a study found that less than .5% of all resources were spent on the oceans. There was no group exclusively protecting the oceans and restoring them on a global scale so the founders formed Oceana in 2001. Oceana is “ an international organization focused solely on oceans, dedicated to achieving measurable change by conducting specific, science-based policy campaigns with fixed deadlines and articulated goals”.
The ocean covers 71% of this planet, and is home to most of the world’s life forms. Ocean’s play a central role in the world’s ecosystem, absorbing carbon dioxide and regulating the world’s climate. They also provide livelihoods to millions of people, and feed many millions more.
RED highlights the threats of all 17 animal species, and the animal that will benefit the most from the work Oceana undertakes is the Atlantic Bluefin Tuna. There are eight different species of tuna, and this species is the largest, reaching lengths of almost 2 metres, the fastest swimming up to 35 kilometres an hour and is one of three tuna species in grave danger of extinction due to overfishing. And there numbers are still decreasing.
We need a global solution on all fish management, not only science-based catch limits, but the reduction of by-catch, which drowns many other sea creatures. We also need to protect the oceans, from pollution to keeping areas safe, so that all species can breed safely as well as recover from overfishing.
Highlighting the sea habitats of the world, will broadly benefit, all species that have also made the oceans their home, and in R:E:D, these include: the Blue Whale, the Green Turtle, the Polar Bear, Coral and the Erect-Crested penguin.
The money donated will help towards conserving marine habitat, and the RED team has decided to target Oceana’s North Sea campaign to save this special ecosystem. The North Sea has got the UK at its west border, Norway to its north, Denmark to its east and the northern European countries of Germany, Netherlands, Belgium and France to its south. This sea is one of the most productive seas in the world, with an amazing diversity from the smallest species, plankton to the larger invertebrates, fish, seabirds, marine mammals and many other organisms that call this sea their home. This sea is of great social and economic value, due to its fisheries, tourism, transport and many extractive industries making this sea one of the most heavily impacted oceans in the world.
And today is World Tuna Day – May 2, 2020
World Tuna Day was created by the United Nations (UN), and officially voted by the General Assembly in 2016. More than 90 countries, which is almost half of all the worlds countries, have tuna fisheries and depend on tuna for food security and nutrition. Therefore the UN felt it important to highlight this particular species not only for the role they play in their ocean habitat, but the role they play in human survival.
So today we celebrate World Tuna Day and highlight the beautiful jumpers designed by Emalie Dam as well as our free download of an accompanying tuna design to keep your hands warm. And don’t forget to help the tuna, by only eating sustainable sources of seafood and stop buying single-use plastics, which end up polluting all our world oceans.
Do something special today, be inspired by the new book called RED and answer your call to action by doing something for our Planet.
Learn more about Oceana at www.oceana.org And make a positive difference today.
Thank you - Dorte Rorman, Lisa Renner and Polly Cevallos