Ocean Week Victoria kicks off Sunday

An annual, week-long event highlights the importance of our oceans and the work being done locally to protect them.

Life on earth depends on our oceans, from the oxygen we breathe to the food we consume. An annual event in Victoria seeks to raise awareness about the work being done locally to protect “our big blue backyard.”

Nick Hammar is the Youth Programs Coordinator with Ocean Networks Canada. He says our oceans are slowing global warming which makes sense when you consider that oceans have absorbed roughly 95 per cent of the heat created by man-made greenhouse gases on earth.

“The current state is definitely not ideal,” said Hammar.

He adds roughly half of the oxygen on earth is produced by life within the oceans.

“So, you can think about it as every second breath you take is thanks to life in the ocean,” said Hammar.

Tina Kelly is with the Shaw Centre for the Salish Sea and says in order to move towards conservation and sustainability, you have to start with awareness.

Sunday marks the beginning of Ocean Week Victoria. It’s seven days of varied events meant to create that awareness.

“This is a really good week to get out there and not only learn more about the ocean but also learn about some of the organizations that are doing good for the ocean locally,” said Kelly.

There will be planned beach clean-ups, paddle boarding, pub trivia, festivals and more – designed to engage and inform all age groups.

“We estimate that approximately five per cent of the ocean has been explored by humans,” said Hammar.

There is still so much we don’t know about earth’s largest bodies of water especially as global warming becomes more of a threat.

“We need to know what’s going to happen, for example, as ice melts and the temperature of the water changes,” said Hammar.

He says scientists are predicting a significant increase in the amount of water is expected over the century and that, as of now, we don’t really understand what the impact will be. Another area of concern is how life in our oceans will adapt to those changing temperatures – from the smallest of organisms to the ocean’s largest dwellers.

“The message of Ocean Week Victoria is that we want to have fun, but we also want to be learning how to conserve and protect our oceans,” said Hammar.

Because at the end of the day, life on earth depends on it.