Importance of the Oceans |04 September 2004

Amidst the everyday chaos most of us would never find enough time to explore the sea. Our primary concern and focus is usually working to have a better life and ultimately to live long enough to enjoy the fruits of labour in our twilight years.

 
Indeed most of us don't pay much attention to the very element that keeps us alive. The living sea has been the source and cradle of life on earth for over three billion years. How many of us truly acknowledge that without the ocean there would be no life on this planet at all?

There is an incredible natural biodiversity in our seas; more plants and amore animals live in the seas than on land. Of the 33 biological groups of animals, 28 of them have links to the sea; only five of them are entirely terrestrial.

Since most life on earth is aquatic, in terms of both diversity and biomass, it seems reasonable to get to know who's who in the sea, to appreciate each and every living creature that make up the vast watery expanse that so effectively influences our existence, climate, weather and the mechanisms that made this water planet a hospitable place for life.

The seas occupy nearly 71 percent of our planet's surface and the sea provides 99 percent of the earth's living space. Seas act as the world's heaters and air conditioners.

Ocean currents move warm water to cold areas and like wise cold waters to warm. The seas absorb heat in the summer and release it in the winter.

The seas and marine life consume huge amounts of carbon dioxide and much more oxygen is produced and released through oceanic photosynthesis than by all the earth's terrestrial plants and forests combined.

We are just beginning to understand our oceans, the processes and life within their embrace. It is puzzling, especially to those of us who recognise the importance of our seas, that politicians spend so little on their protection.

The out of sight and out of mind' mentality is obvious and disheartening. If only the seas were constantly above us, as clear as our sky, perhaps then we would realise the urgency in cleaning up our act and protecting this wonderful resource.

Exploring the aquatic realm is like nothing else, the second we immerse ourselves in the sea, we are immediately engulfed within a web of life totally out of this world; we are able to swim among fishes and after learning the language of the sea we can silently converse with extraordinary and weird marine animals.

Explorers meet eye-to-eye bizarre creatures that will never be seen even in the best aquariums. And the sea has its surprises-you might find yourself swimming next to a mother dolphin and her calf into the path of mantas and whales. You might tremble, not out of fear but out of a feeling of pure exhilaration with the beauty and immensity of the sea... not to mention your own insignificance....

Contributed by the Ministry of Tourism and Transport.