29/03/2024
🧜♀️ Today is Mermaid Day 🧜♂️
It may be a time to share tales of mythical sea creatures, but we couldn't ignore an opportunity to talk about the beauty and wonder of their natural habitats.
Our waters serves as a home to countless creatures, both real and mythical, and so we're always keen to celebrate initiatives that protect them.
🌊 Rāhui and the Ancient Art of Marine Conservation
The village of Tautira, located in Tahiti, is a quaint coastal village renowned for its black sand beaches and family-like community. With a deep-rooted focus on preservation, the community upholds the ancient and traditional art of Rāhui: a management system, a practice, a place, a belief, a law and a lens through which related actions are assessed. Exercised in Tahiti's coastal ecosystems, rāhui is used to protect the water by placing a temporary limit on collecting resources to give it time to replenish. Steeped in tradition, this practice is key to protecting Tahiti's depleted coastal ecosystems, while evoking a sense of respect and admiration for cultural heritage.
🌊 Seawilding
Shall we give our mythical loch monsters a chance? With aquatic life disappearing from the UK's lakes, rivers and seas at an alarming rate, a small rural community on the west coast of Argyll proactively counteracted this with a seawilding project of its beloved Loch Craignish. Out of this project sprung Seawilding, a community-led marine habit restoration charity. Since 2019, Seawilding has advanced the environmental protection of Scottish coastal waters, and even hosts a youth group to get the next generation involved.
🌊Overfishing, Greenpeace
For decades, Greenpeace has been advocating for fishing methods that keep fish stocks healthy and protect other marine creatures. According to the UN, 70% of fisheries are overfished. And, over 90% of predatory species like cod and tuna have already been caught. Greenpeace is taking on corporate giants and campaigning for a fairer allocation system that favours local and more sustainable fishing. The campaign group's ultimate goal is to establish a network of ocean sanctuaries that would provide refuge for marine life to thrive away from the threat of industrial fishing fleets.
🌊 Coral Reef Rescue Initiative and WWF
WWF and Coral Reef Rescue Initiative are on a mission to protect the world's reefs. Currently concentrating on sixteen reef complexes in seven countries, this campaign aims to protect reefs from illegal fishing and coastal development. Using an AI tool called 'ReefCloud,' teams can survey reefs and collect data to inform conservation efforts in the area. If protected, the coral larvae from these reefs will help those impacted by climate change recover.
