The world’s biggest aquarium brand, Merlin Entertainments’ SEA LIFE chain, together with its partner charity, The Sea Life Trust have thrown their collective weight behind Our Ocean.
This is the rapidly growing global marine conservation movement first launched by US Senator John Kerry in 2014.
The Our Ocean conference give world leaders from across the globe the opportunity to discuss stategies and plan collective action to tackle the very serious issues facing the world’s oceans. This year’s fourth iteration of the International Our Ocean conference will be held for the first time in Europe. It will take place in Malta on 5-6 October.
The conference will bring together conservation charities, other NGOs, aquariums and other groups, all of which have a keen interest in conserving the marine environment.
Team Turtle and The Sea Life Trust
Like their parent company Merlin Entertainments, both Sea Life and The Sea Life Trust have their headquarters in Poole, Dorset. They have committed to ally their own ‘Team Turtle’ campaign to the OurOcean campaign involving World Aquariums.
Andy Bool is head of The Sea Life Trust. He said, “Team Turtle shares the key OurOcean
objective of engaging people to help combat marine pollution, overfishing and bycatch and their effects on the marine environment and especially the sea turtle, one of the oceans’ most iconic species”.
“It has a particular focus on the problem of plastic in our seas. The EU is also highlighting this in its own campaign urging World Aquariums to help combat marine litter.”
With 50 SEA LIFE aquariums around the world, the number of aquariums in the Our Ocean support network is boosted from 97 to 147 worldwide. These aquariums are now in 38 countries.
Karmenu Vella is European Commissioner for Environment, Maritime Affairs and Fisheries. He said, “We are delighted that SEA LIFE has joined the World Aquariums Against Marine Litter campaign, which we launched in July of this year.
Sea Life to attend Our Ocean conference
“Having their support ensures that millions more people, especially young people, will be sensitised to the urgent need to reduce plastic waste in our oceans. Welcome SEALIFE – another fantastic partner of OurOcean 2017!”.
SEA LIFE and the Sea Life Trust will also be sending representatives to this year’s Our Ocean conference. There they will suggest measures worthy of global support.
Research from Our Oceans suggests an astonishing 10 million tonnes of litter is thrown in our seas every year and it estimates that by 2050 there could be more plastic than fish in the oceans.
