8 June 2018 (FAO)*— Ghost fishing. Sounds eerie, right? Unfortunately, it is indeed as eerie as it sounds. Ghost fishing occurs when lost or abandoned fishing gear stays in the ocean and traps fish or other marine life, indiscriminately killing whatever it catches.
Abandoned, lost or otherwise discarded fishing gear (ALDFG), as it is known officially, is being recognized as a topic that we must tackle now for the sake of our marine environment and the people whose lives and livelihoods depend on it.
8 June 2018 (United Nations)* — We celebrate World Oceans Day to remind everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life. They are the lungs of our planet, providing most of the oxygen we breathe.
As the photographer of this young yellow boxfish (Ostracion cubicus) said, small marine creatures as well as large ones are fascinating and worth protecting. The fish was in a rocky crevice in the Tweed River, New South Wales, Australia. Photo: winner in the Youth Category of World Oceans Day Photo Competition/Jack McKee.
The purpose of the Day is to inform the public of the impact of human actions on the ocean, develop a worldwide movement of citizens for the ocean, and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans. They are a major source of food and medicines and a critical part of the biosphere. In the end, it is a day to celebrate together the beauty, the wealth and the promise of the ocean.
8 June 2018 — World Oceans Day 2018 is truly the biggest and best yet! This year, already over one thousand eventsare registered on the website in dozens of countries across the globe – from first time celebrations such as the International Ocean Week being held in Cameroon, to the Run to the Deep race event in London, to online events like the Healthy Seas Initiative diving beneath the waves in a Facebook live event and youth taking action through initiatives like Sea Youth Rise Up.
The events, activities and actions planned for World Oceans Day 2018 are sure to make a big splash for the ocean.
TheYouth Advisory Council has been hard at work preparing for World Oceans Day 2018.
From carrying your own water bottle, to volunteering for a local clean-up, everybody needs to do something to stop plastic pollution from getting into the world’s oceans, said UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his message for World Oceans Day.
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UN Photo/Martine Perret | Plastic bottles and garbage waste from a village in Timor-Leste wash on the shores of a river and then spill into the sea.
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Marking the day on 8 June 2018 the UN chief reminded everyone of the major role the oceans have in everyday life, as the lungs of the planet, providing most of the oxygen that we breathe.
Any attack on the key port city of Hodeidah in Yemen “will impact hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians” and would entail around 250,000 civilians losing everything – “even their lives” – the UN Humanitarian Coordinatorfor the war-torn country on 8 June 2018 said.
OCHA/Giles Clarke | A man and his sons travel to collect water underneath the Hajjah Road Bridge, in Hodeidah, Yemen, which was damaged in an airstrike in mid-2016. (file)
Lise Grande’s statement comes amid ongoing fighting in the Arabian peninsula State, where 22 million people are in need of aid and protection; three-quarters of the entire population.
8 Jun 2018 (UN Environment)*— Several countries in Latin America and the Caribbean are protecting millions of square kilometers of seas in some of the world’s most biodiverse zones.
Mexico’s Archipiélago de Revillagigedo (Wikimedia)
Marine protected areas are one of the best tools to safeguard the health of our oceans and stop overfishing, pollution and acidification.
They bring ecological benefits, but also great economic gains. Studies show, for example, how a a single hammerhead shark sighted in the Isla del Coco, in Costa Rica, generates up to $1.6 million during its life thanks through eco-tourism.
DOHUK, Iraq, 4 June 2018 (UNFPA)* – Aysheh was only 15 years old when she and her family fled Qamishli, northeastern Syria, to find refuge in Iraq in 2014. They ended up in Domiz 1 camp in Iraq’s Kurdistan region.
Built rapidly and with little planning to accommodate the large numbers of refugees fleeing northern Syria in 2012, Domiz 1 is now home to 5,608 Syrian refugee families.
They contend with overcrowding, and live in shelters in need of upgrading. And livelihood opportunities are scarce.
4 June 4, 2018 (UN Women)* — The Rohingya crisis started decades ago, but the intensity and the influx of Rohingya refugees into Bangladesh since last year has been unprecedented.
Noor Nahar. Photo: UN Women/Allison Joyce
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Noor Nahar is a Rohingya woman in her thirties, who has lived in a refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh since she was seven years old.
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Today she is working as a mentor to newly arriving Rohingya women refugees as part of a UN Women-supported programme.
7 June 2018 (UNFPA)* — Shame, stigma and misinformation surrounding menstruation are contributing to serious human rights concerns for women and girls, emphasizes a new report commissioned by UNFPA.
The report, a comprehensive review of available evidence on menstrual health management in East and Southern Africa, was undertaken by the non-governmental organization WoMena and released ahead of the Menstrual Health Management Symposium in Johannesburg, South Africa.
It’s not what we wanted to find. When Greenpeace set sail to the Antarctic earlier this year, we were going to look for the incredible wildlife — tottering penguins, majestic whales, soaring seabirds — that call the Antarctic Ocean home.
