Our beautiful oceans and their inhabitants are often taken for granted. Too many fish are being taken out, too much rubbish is being thrown in and too little is being done to protect the precious and vulnerable marine wildlife.
S.E.A. Aquarium is celebrating World Oceans Day on 8 June, with month-long marine conservation themed activities – scroll to the end of the post to see the list of activities. Come on down with the family to learn how we can all do our part to protect the ocean.
In the meantime, here are 3 timely reminders of our wasteful and inappropriate practices, and how we can quite easily opt for ocean-friendly alternatives.
1. Plastic: weapon of convenience
We love how useful and convenient plastic products are. But do you know that single-use items like grocery bags, cutlery and product packaging are only a drop in the ocean when it comes to the frivolous abuse of plastic? Here are more shocking facts:
- About 90% of floating debris in the ocean is plastic. To make things worse, it can take hundreds of years for these plastics to break down at sea.
- Over 100,000 turtles and marine mammals, such as dolphins, seals and whales, die each year from ingesting or becoming entangled in plastic debris.
A manta ray and a green sea turtle feed in the midst of plastic bags, milk jugs, and other debris floating off one of Oahu’s highest-rated beaches. Source: nationalgeographic.com
Do it right
- Opt for cloth shopping bags and reusable water bottles
- Store food in non-disposable containers whenever possible
2. Overfishing
Most of us treat the ocean as a seafood buffet that is constantly refilled with the freshest catch. But here’s what reality looks like:
Do it right
- Choose sustainable seafood when dining out to help reduce the demand for overexploited species. These two posts will give you a good idea of which are sustainable and which are not.
http://seaa.rwsentosablog.com/2013/11/20/dont-eat-tiger-prawns-eat-mud-crabs/
http://seaa.rwsentosablog.com/2013/11/29/should-you-eat-tuna-scallops-abalone/
- Avoid overexploited species such as sharks. In Asia, shark’s fin soup is a well-loved delicacy, which unfortunately puts many shark species on the endangered list. Every year, 73 million sharks are killed to feed human demand for shark’s fin soup. Say no to shark’s fin.
3. Death by balloons
They come in every colour imaginable, and when released in massive numbers, they turn an event into pure spectacle. But the truth is far from spectacular when a good number of these inflated latex end up in the oceans, leading to the demise of marine animals. This is because balloons can be mistaken for food, and these animals sometimes get tangled up in balloon strings too.
Do it right
Go for elaborate balloon sculptures instead to complement the celebration.
Marine conservation starts with education: what’s happening at the Aquarium in June?
Conservation education and awareness programmes are part of Marine Life Park’s conservation mission. This June, the S.E.A. Aquarium has lined up exciting marine conservation themed activities to inspire and educate both the young and old on how we can do our part to protect the ocean:
- Roving magic show
- Eco music: music created from instruments made of recycled household wares
- Silhouette puppet show: gigantic puppets played out on the huge viewing panel at the Open Ocean Habitat
- Interactive Fun Learning passport: free for all kids to learn about marine life
- Ocean Dreams – The Blue Edition: the fun and educational sleepover takes on a conservation theme. More information here
Buy 3 get 1 free S.E.A. Aquarium One-Day Pass
Book online with your MasterCard from 21 May to 31 July 2014 and you’ll get 1 free Adult Day Pass with every 3 purchased.
$50 for 2 S.E.A. Aquarium One-Day Pass
Book online to enjoy this fabulous deal. Book here
For more savings and promotions, click here
Join us at S.E.A. Aquarium this June to discover more about marine conservation.