World Ocean Day provides a reminder of the need for year-round marine protection

World Ocean Day on June 8 is an international celebration of the world’s oceans and a moment to recognize the vital role they play in sustaining life on earth. The ocean is an essential resource that we must protect from coastal development, overfishing, illegal practices and marine pollution. The Moore Charitable Foundation (MCF) is committed to ocean conservation, partnering with organizations working to mitigate these threats by advancing conservation outcomes for species, habitats, and communities, including protected and sustainable marine zoning and policy, augmented fishing protections, and effective enforcement.

This includes participating in funding collaboratives such as Oceans 5 and championing organizations such as the Shark Conservation Fund to support marine conservation that combats the threats of overfishing and offshore drilling, and preserves key marine areas and critical shark and ray species.

Another partner, Oceana, has spearheaded important initiatives to keep ocean ecosystems and coastal communities safe and healthy by keeping more fish in the ocean and keeping pollution out of the ocean.

One big source of pollution comes from oil spills. The Biden administration is expected to release soon a five-year plan to regulate offshore drilling along the Atlantic coast. Oceana has been advocating for a permanent moratorium on drilling and is monitoring the administration’s proposal closely.

Offshore drilling is not only harmful to the ocean and coastal communities, it also increases the risk of toxic exposure from oil contamination and contributes to economic losses and climate change. At stake are 1.6 million jobs and approximately $127 billion in gross domestic product that rely on healthy ocean ecosystems along the Atlantic coast.

“We are proud to work with partners like Oceana, Oceans 5 and the Shark Conservation Fund to fight the threats to our world’s oceans and the marine species that live there,” said Ann Colley, Executive Director and Vice President of The Moore Charitable Foundation. “We must conserve our oceans year-round, not just on World Ocean Day.”