Tides Are Changing: Reasons to celebrate on World Oceans Day

Today is World Oceans Day, a time to stop and think about the importance of our oceans, says a local expert in the law of the sea.

“Our oceans are the lungs of our planet and produce about 50% of the oxygen that we all breathe,” says Dr Sarah Lothian, a lecturer and academic barrister at the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS) at the University of Wollongong.

“They also are responsible for moderating global climate conditions and, of course, they're a major source of food for about a billion people on the planet.

“World Oceans Day is all about uniting and rallying the world to protect and restore our beautiful blue planet.”

The idea to dedicate a day to oceans – which cover the majority of Earth – was first raised in 1992. In 2008, the UN General Assembly designated June 8 as annual World Oceans Day. It's since grown to be a huge global event, including a photo competition and a program of talks that was live-streamed to about 86,000 people in 2022.

“This year's theme is all about Planet Ocean and Tides Are Changing,” Sarah says. “What they're trying to do is really draw attention not only to the problems facing our world's oceans, but also to the amazing achievements that we've made over the past 12 months.

“To give you a few examples: last year we adopted the very ambitious global target to conserve and manage about 30% of our marine and coastal areas by 2030.  We also saw that amazing historic achievement in March of this year with a new high seas treaty to conserve and sustainably use marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.

"So we've had a lot of achievements over the last year."

Negotiations are also underway to cement a new global legally binding agreement to end plastic pollution, another ray of hope in international news.

“I think, especially coming out of the Covid pandemic as well, we need those bright spots, those things to really hold onto," Sarah says. "It's about joining forces with everyone when it comes to these important decisions – not only just at the global level in terms of the United Nations, but trying to get youth activists and indigenous leaders and scientists in the civil society, everyone involved, so that we can all make a difference."

Reaching a 30% conservation target will require a collective commitment by many nations and, while progress has been made, ocean health is nonetheless declining and at an alarming rate, Sarah says.

“Over 30% of all of our fish stocks are now over-exploited. About 50% of the world's coral reefs have been destroyed. And I think that really hits home for Australians because we obviously have the world's largest coral reef ecosystem on our doorstep up there in the Great Barrier Reef.”

Sarah will be celebrating World Oceans Day by watching the talks at the UN's HQ in New York via live-stream and she encourages anyone interested to join in. “Everyone can jump on and watch it, if they're not lucky enough to be in New York.”

She also recommends a simple walk on the beach. “I will be doing my daily walk along the lovely esplanade at Cronulla Beach. I like to just take my time and soak it in, and really have a look out there on the horizon and realise that there's so much that we don't know yet about what exists in our oceans.

"And we really need to turn our minds to how important it is.”

Find out more about World Oceans Day at the UN’s official website and register to watch the virtual event.

Take your ocean love to the next level and get in amongst it: read this article about where and why to join a winter swimming club.