World Ocean Day - June 8, 2022 by Dede Tabak, June 06 2022, 7 Comments

Summertime is here and for a lot of people that means taking trips to the beach and enjoying the beautiful ocean waves. While many appreciate the ocean for its beauty, others are working hard to protect it. This year, World Ocean Day is on June 8, 2022. It's a celebration of our one ocean, one climate and the commitment to changing the way we interact with this life-sustaining body of water and the creatures within it. 

The ocean covers more than 70% of the Earth’s surface so it definitely deserves its own day! Many countries have celebrated World Ocean Day on June 8 since it was first declared at the Global Summit in Rio de Janiero in 1992. It was organized by the Oceans Institute of Canada. In 2008, the UN, led by Canada, designated that June 8 would be World Oceans Day (now World Ocean Day). And with the ocean facing more threats than ever before, it’s time for us globally to come together and protect “the lungs of Earth.” Not only does the ocean produce at least 50% of our planet’s oxygen and absorb about 30% of our carbon dioxide, the ocean is also a main source of food and provides jobs for the majority of the population—an estimated 40 million people will be employed by ocean-based industries by 2030. 

Join the United Nations World Ocean Day 2022, hosted by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, with the generous contribution of Oceanic Global, as they shed light on the communities, ideas, and solutions that are working together to protect and revitalize the ocean and everything it sustains. The theme for this year’s World Ocean Day is “Revitalization: Collective Action for the Ocean.” The focus is on raising awareness about the human impact on the ocean and to mobilize and unite the world to push towards ocean conservation and sustainability. With overfishing—an estimated 90% of the big fish population depleted—plastic pollution, and the destruction of 50% of the ocean’s coral reefs, we need to come together this June 8 and work on restoring balance to our oceans and replenishing what’s been lost.

This year will be the first year that World Ocean Day will be a hybrid celebration, with in-person and live broadcasts. Each year there is also a conservation action focus. This year’s focus is to ask the world’s top leaders to protect 30% of the land, water and ocean by 2030. If you would like to participate, click here.

You can also work on preserving our ocean all year long so that future generations can enjoy its beautiful waves as well, before it’s too late. Here are some ways you can do that:

  • Participate in a beach cleanup or even organize one yourself
  • Eat less fish to allow the fish population to replenish
  • Avoid single-use plastics that end up leaching into the ocean

And when you do go to the beach, take care of our waters and enjoy their beauty!