Earth is surrounded by ocean, which makes it very important to take care of marine life. However, the growing numbers of human population and the lack of awareness of marine conservation make it hard for them to thrive.
In fact, it’s the other way around-they keep decreasing over the course of time. So if you care about ocean life, here are 10 marine conservation organization that you should check out, help volunteer, and donate to.
1. Deep Sea Conservation Coalition
— DSCC (@DeepSeaConserve) July 16, 2018
Based in Costa Rica, this marine preservation organization plays a role in the country’s international shark fin trade. As beautiful as it is, Costa Rica is one of the focal points of this inhumane trade. And there are over two hundred endangered shark species that need attention now.
This group also does some research so that they can protect ocean resources as well as persuade the country (and all Central America) to carry out sustainable fishing policies. Deep Sea Conservation Coalition organizes year-round campaigns to raise public awareness about marine conservation and provide learning programs in educational institutions.
2. Gili Eco Trust
You can find this NGO in Gili Trawangan, Indonesia. At first, this organization was founded to protect coral reefs around Gili islands from irresponsible and destructive fishing. Back then, fishermen used dynamite and cyanide, so they didn’t only destroy all coral, but also other aquatic life that lived in the reefs.
In short, this organization helped educating fishermen about legal techniques of fishing and authorized zones so that there would be no more bad fishing practices.
Now, Gili Eco Trust doesn’t only focus on marine conservation. They expanded their activities to waste management and sustainable eco tourism. This NGO supervises waste management on Gili Trawangan from collecting, processing recyclable materials, to transporting them off island. Other activities that they do include horse healthcare clinics and educational workshops.
3. Surfrider Foundation
Protecting oceans and beaches all around the world is this organization’s core value. The California-based non-profit group realize the challenges of ocean pollution. Therefore, they focus on issues like water quality, plastic pollution, coastal ecosystem preservation, and beach access.
The group’s volunteers test ocean waters all year long. The purpose is so that the public will understand and have a knowledge about their local water quality. Moreover, Surfrider Foundation also has Ocean Friendly Gardens program in which they make beautiful landscapes that collect water drainage and its substances before it reaches ocean.
Read also: This little seahorse is drifting with a cotton bud
4. Shark Savers
Similar to Deep Sea Conservation Coalition, this organization is devoted to saving manta rays and sharks. They do so by raising awareness, education, and action. This group was founded in 2007 by divers who are concerned with sharks and manta population which have been suffering until now.
Their programs do more than protect sharks and mantas both locally and globally. Shark Savers utilizes ocean experts and professionals with great experience. And through that, they bring important issues to the public and they never fail to convince and motivate people to stop slaughtering sharks and eating shark fin soup.
Shark Savers work for the creation of shark sanctuaries and improved regulations that concern the species. They also encourage and empower divers as advocates for sharks. Now, they have more than 25,000 members from 99 nations who want to end sharks and mantas’ suffering.
5. Ocean Conservancy
This advocacy group work to protect special marine habitats, reduce human impact on marine ecosystems, and restore sustainable fishing practices. Founded in 1972, the Washington D.C.-based organization emphasize on the importance of educating the public and advocating policy changes in order to maintain the healthy state of ocean wildlife.
Initially known as Delta Conservancy and Center for Environmental Education and the Center for Marine Conservation, this group has several efforts to achieve their goal. One of their acts is International Coastal Cleanup program which has been going on for over 30 years. And they always successfully bring millions of volunteers together to clean beaches around the world.
Bonus: Their Instagram feed is full of great photographs and occasionally cute animals!
6. Sea Turtle Conservancy
This group is probably the oldest of all listed organizations. Formerly Caribbean Conservation Corporation, this conservancy was founded in 1959 by a famous sea turtle expert Dr. Archie Carr. He concluded that sea turtles are facing extinction and so he wanted to save them through science-based conservation.
This international non-profit organization has a headquarter in Florida. They undertake worldwide programs to conserve and recover sea turtle populations through rigorous research and protection of natural habitats.
Since 1959, this organization have done a lot of research programs that provide information about sea turtles and the threats they face the way we know now. The result of applying this research knowledge? This conservancy has carried out the world’s most successful sea turtle protection and recovery programs.
Read also: Sea turtle population might be saved with this device
7. Take 3
Based in Australia, this non-profit organization that has a program called A Clean Beach Initiative. It focuses on reducing plastic pollution in the continent’s oceans and beaches. They not only educate people about the dangers of marine plastic pollution.
They also encourage beachgoers to take just three pieces of trash before leaving the beach and/or places that has waterways, as tons of plastic end up in oceans every year. Even though it seems like a small thing to do, this initiative believes in turning small efforts into big results.
8. Oceana
Oceana has already protected more than 3.5 million miles of ocean and innumerable sea life – but there is still more to be done. Oceana depends on your support. Learn more about how you can support our efforts to protect the oceans on our website: https://t.co/OJ2LDfr1GS. 🌊 pic.twitter.com/JLVThWCp0g
— Oceana (@oceana) August 18, 2018
This conservation and advocacy organization is also based in Washington D.C. Oceana was founded in 2001 and this group dedicate themselves to saving and restoring oceans through targeted campaigns. And to date, Oceana is the largest international organization that wholly commit to ocean conservation.
Their targeted campaigns is saving sea life, fish population, marine mammals from being obliterated as a result of industrial fishing and population. They also want to end major culprits of ocean pollution such as mercury, oil, and shipping emissions.
Additionally, Oceana campaigns to preserve and protect vulnerable places in the oceans like the Arctic, the Aleutian Islands, the Mediterranean, and Juan Fernandez Islands in Chile. (Psst, their Instagram feed is also amazing!)
9. Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
Maybe you’re already familiar with this group because of their show in Discovery channel. Sea Shepherd is well known for their daring and “controversial” acts to obstruct Japanese ships from whaling practices in the Southern Ocean.
Their tactics are often direct and non-lethal, including scuttling, disabling, and throwing bottles of butyric acid to all whaling vessels at sea. Other than that, they also intervene in seal hunts.
This group was founded by an ex-Greenpeace, Paul Watson, in 1977. He and his group are really devoted to protecting ocean and marine life, particularly marine mammals such as seals, dolphins, and whales. Because of their rather offensive methods, Japanese government has called Sea Shepherd eco-terrorists for threatening their research.
Read also: Canada plans to ban whaling and capturing dolphins
10. Ric O’Barry’s Dolphin Project
Richard O’Barry is a man who has worked in dolphin captivity industry and he found himself not liking it. O’Barry had trained dolphins for TV series called Flipper, and one of those dolphins died in his arms. He believed that it committed suicide.
Since then, he went from training dolphins to advocating against dolphin captivity. He founded this organization in 1982 and he has been campaigning against Japan’s whaling culture and he’s halted dolphin trade in the Solomon Islands. Other than that, he has rescued and rehabilitated dolphins all around the world.
Which one that you’re familiar with? Do you have an interesting story when you’re volunteering in this kind of organization? Tell us in the comments below. Don’t forget to leave a like if you enjoyed reading it and check out this article for related reading.
Source(s)
https://www.marineinsight.com/environment/15-brave-organisations-fighting-save-oceans/
https://www.scubadiving.com/marine-conservation/list-non-profits-focused-marine-conservation
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