World Ocean Day and World Reef Day

​World Reef Day and World Ocean Days are days for consumers, businesses, and organisations to reflect on the delicate ecosystem of our ocean's and make simple changes to protect them.
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Coral reefs are critical marine habitat on which many ocean species depend. As a result, they are important for our own survival, producing not only food but ocean's produce the majority of the world's oxygen supply. These critically important ecosystems are jeopardised by several threats.

• The oceans are becoming more acidic. As carbon dioxide levels rise in the atmosphere, the world's oceans work to absorb the excess carbon dioxide. The lower pH inhibits the coral's ability to produce it's calcium carbonate exoskeletons which they rely on for shelter.
• Water pollution is also having a detrimental effect on coral reefs. Agricultural and domestic chemical waste,  oil and gasoline, sewage discharge and sediment from eroded landscapes make it more difficult for coral to prosper. These chemicals damage the complex symbiosis that exist among the plants, coral and other animals that are part of the reef ecosystem.
• Increasing ocean temperatures due to climate change, coral polyps expel the zooxanthellae, their food source. Once the zooxanthellae are gone, the coral loses its brilliant colour, leaving the white exoskeleton exposed. This is referred to as coral bleaching, once a colony starts bleaching, they usually die off.
• Fishing practices such as cyanide fishing, "blast fishing" with explosives and overfishing with trawlers can destroy a thousand-year-old coral reef in a matter of minutes.

"Overfishing, ocean acidification and pollution are pushing coral reefs into oblivion," Roger Bradbury, an ecologist at the Australian National University in Canberra, wrote in his New York Times opinion article. "Each of those forces alone is fully capable of causing the global collapse of coral reefs; together, they assure it."

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So what can YOU do?

1. Use reef-safe sunscreen, shampoo and soap.  Remember ALL water will reach the ocean at some point
2. Reduce single-use plastics
3. Spread the message and educate 
4. Educate the children on the importance of the reef ecosystem using ARKive Dinner at the Reef resource
5. Take part in Project Aware courses AND the action plans you produce as part of these course AND remember you can take these courses virtually.
6. Stop, Reflect and Think about your actions.

Photos by Tracey Roberts