Ocean literacy speaks to developing an understanding the impact of the ocean* on our lives and, reciprocally, our own responsibility in its stewardship. As coastal infrastructure that spans the land-sea interface and provides safe harbour for mariners and their boats, marinas find themselves right at the centre of this dynamic and in a unique position to champion marine environmental protection.
A healthy ocean is essential to the survival of life on Earth, performing an important function in climate regulation; providing food, materials, medicine and a habitat for marine life; offering sources of renewable energy from tides, waves and wind; sequestering CO2 and producing oxygen, in addition to many more ecosystem services.
Culturally, coastal communities have a complex relationship with the ocean. Many rely on the ocean for their livelihoods through fishing, tourism, shipping, and other marine-related industries. The ocean provides a sense of place, being an integral part of a cultural identity, and offers considerable opportunities for leisure, travel and relaxation.
The changing climate and ocean degradation bring significant risks and challenges, however and with it an urgent need to expand our understanding and take calculated steps to adapt to these changes and collectively, help build resilient coastal communities. With increasingly congestion coastal areas, marinas also need to engage with water body governance frameworks, to collaborate with the relevant stakeholders to ensure integrated coastal management.
Ocean education
One of the principal ocean education services that marinas can offer, as indicated by Blue Flag criteria, for example, is informing staff, visitors and residents about local marine ecosystems, marine biodiversity and marine stewardship. This can take many forms, such as talks and presentations, displays, guided tours, or open day activities with conservation groups. To better manage and coordinate environmental concerns, these responsibilities can be assigned to a staff member.
The UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development, or the Ocean Decade, provides a compelling framework for this endeavour, together with attractive resources, urging us to understand our profound connection to the ocean and turn that awareness into positive change. One of the recommendations offered by the Ocean Decade includes co-designing ocean literacy programmes with diverse stakeholders, which means reaching out to schools, universities, conservation groups and local communities etc., to leverage expert knowledge and explore effective collaborations.
Marinas can explore implementing initiatives with specific and positive outcomes, such as responsible anchoring (i.e. using eco-moorings – see boatfolk’s work on this), campaigns to encourage pump-out in the marina, or contributions to ocean science. An example of this is the work currently being planned within the LandSeaLot Horizon Europe project to place sensors in marinas, and help marinas become more familiar with physical and biochemical variables and the work of ocean scientists.
It’s important to be aware of the ways in which human actions can result in contaminating rivers and the ocean such as sewage dumping, agricultural and industrial run-off from land-based activities, or plastic pollution. Selectively these can lead to eutrophication or eventually dead zones and harm both marine and human life.
The certification programme “Ports Propres” (Clean Harbours | ISO8725), obliges applicants to conduct a thorough assessment of pollution generated directly as a result of marina operations and that which enters the marina from external sources. Marinas then need to develop respective mitigation plans. This helps establish a far better understanding of the nature, origin and mobility of pollutants and the role that marinas can play as stewards.
TransEurope Marinas is very proud to say that over half of our marina members carry some sort of environmental certification or award: 22 marinas have the Blue Flag, 8 are “Ports Propres” certified or in the application stages and 8 are Clean Marina accredited.
*The term “ocean” refers to a single, interconnected global system; one vast, continuous body of water.
