World Oceans Day: Fishing for a Future

The ocean is my "happy place"; a powerful presence in my life from a young age, it never ceases to soothe me and wash away the troubles of the terrestrial world. I was fortunate enough to grow up by (and largely in) the ocean, my classroom was the waters of the warm Pacific and my education was one of  respect and reverence. I never grew out of my connection with the ocean, the smell of salty sea air still fills my heart with childish delight and when I have the opportunity to submerge my body in the beautiful blue, I am free, bound to the surface only by lack of gills: "when I grow up I want to be a mermaid".

Today is World Oceans Day, a day to celebrate and promote the conservation of the magnificent bodies of water that make up over seventy percent of our planet. Whilst not everybody has a strong personal connection with the ocean, many can't escape it's appeal as a food source, with one billion of the population relying on it as an important source of protein. However as we are all too slowly learning, with mass consumption comes equally massive impacts to our environment. In the 60 odd years since commercial fishing began on a mass scale and increasing technology made it virtually impossible for any fish (turtle, dolphin, shark, whale) to escape our nets we have depleted our ocean's large fish stocks by 90 percent. The bluefin tuna that so many of us have eagerly snapped up off the sashimi plate is now an endangered species and if you think that's disappointing, how about the prediction of the end of seafood by 2048 (if we keep fishing at this rate)? Not to mention the fact that disharmony in the ocean will undoubtedly lead to other serious environmental problems, taking into consideration 50-70 percent of the oxygen we breathe comes from the ocean.

What's most troubling about all this is that unlike other environmental problems, this one is fairly easy to solve. If we cut back and regulate world fishing practices these ocean species will replenish themselves and we can continue to enjoy the fishy fruits of the ocean for many generations to come. Unfortunately though, the change needs to happen now and the governments and fishing industries are not heeding the call. We as consumers and guardians of the planet need to put pressure on the fishing industries and governments to implement sustainable practices before it is too late. We also need to push for increased ocean reserves (no fishing zones) which currently sit at less than one percent!

Ok so what can we do? Firstly, get informed! I highly recommend watching The End of the Line, an insightful documentary revealing the impact of overfishing on our oceans:

 But if you want to skip straight to the solution:

1. Eat only sustainable seafood: ask where your fish comes from and how it was caught.
2. Tell politicians: respect the science and cut the fishing fleet.
3. Join the campaign for marine protected areas and responsible fishing.

For further info and to join the campaign visit:

The End of the Line
One World One Ocean

Can you afford to "Live Below the Line"?

"Poverty is the worst form of violence" - Mahatma Gandi
 
For those as fortunate as myself, Sundays are a glorious time of the week. Today was especially so; I stayed in bed late, ate all my favourite foods (ok, not ALL, I have a lot), strolled in the sunshine, talked and laughed with the people I love, sipped margaritas at sunset by the beach and to top it all off I was gifted a gorgeous bunch of flowers from one of my most favourite people (thank you!!). However between the sleeping, strolling, tequila and talking I must confess I was having a severe battle of the conscience. And here's why...

I heard about this campaign yesterday and went online this morning to see what it was all about. As soon as I watched this video I immediately wanted to jump up and shout "Hell yes! I'm in Hugh! Sign me up! Send me the t-shirt! I'm your girl". For a good five minutes I thought, without question I can make the small sacrifice and eat for $2 a day ($1.50 was the American equivalent) for five days to help raise awareness for world poverty. My social conscience was already mentally putting up the banners and streamers for anti-poverty party week and then the bubble burst, I came out of my "do-gooder" induced hyperactivity for a moment and stopped to think.

The Live Below the Line challenge begins tomorrow, so first of all I'm a little behind the eight ball for registration and fundraising. But secondly and slightly more significantly, I have two huge uni assessments due this Friday, I have a 40 hour work week and just to keep it interesting I've been battling some form of cold/flu/virus for the past couple of weeks, which I just can't seem to shake. So I sat myself down and I said, "Rachel, given all of the above factors, do you really think this week is a good time to potentially deprive yourself of nutrition and energy for a boat which has practically set sail?". I found the answer to be depressingly ironic, "I can't afford to live BELOW the poverty line", at least not this week anyway. This was the sensible choice and at that moment I thought about how ridiculously privileged I was to be able to make it. There are 1.4 billion people on the planet who do not have that privilege. Those people live on the equivalent of $2 a day and for them that is not just for food, that is for EVERYTHING.

So in between all the glory that was my Sunday as mentioned above, I kept experiencing those occasional moments of inner turmoil that only come from a battle of the conscience: "Will I? Won't I? Of course you can! You can't afford to! Make a sacrifice!", and back and forth it went. Finally this evening I sat down and decided I needed to make peace with myself and this is what I came up with...

Firstly I would like to convey my support to all those beautiful, amazing, generous people who have taken the pledge, raised money and will for the next five days sacrifice one of my favourite comforts: food. Secondly I would like to express my overwhelming gratitude for the all the comforts and luxuries I was privileged to today (and every day), that I often take for granted. I am so extremely fortunate to live in a country and in a manner which affords me the choice to say, "No, I will not live below the poverty line". Thirdly in a gesture of support I have sponsored five people, one for each day of the challenge in which I will not be taking part. And lastly, as a symbolic gesture and to quiet my conscience I've decided to give up some of my favourite comforts this week: coffee, sugar and wine. It's not much but sometimes making a little sacrifice helps us to stop, contemplate and appreciate the things for which we are so fortunate that we often take for granted.

For anybody interested in finding out more about global poverty, joining the challenge or supporting those taking part please visit http://www.livebelowtheline.com.au/.