While every day is World Ocean Day when you’re neck deep in marine science education on a daily basis, it’s still an exciting day to get others to celebrate, appreciate, and protect their local waterways and ocean regions!
The History and Purpose of World Ocean Day
World Ocean Day was first proposed back in 1992 by Canada at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro—a major environmental conference where global leaders gathered to talk about saving the planet.
The idea? Create a day dedicated to celebrating the ocean and raising awareness about how much we depend on it.
Although it was unofficial for years, ocean advocates kept the momentum going, holding events, rallies, clean-ups, and educational programs every June 8. It wasn’t until 2008 that the United Nations officially recognized World Ocean Day—finally giving it the global spotlight it deserved.
“Ocean” or “Oceans”?
You may be asking “why is it called world ‘ocean’ day and not world ‘oceans’ day? Aren’t there multiple oceans?” Well, on a map that may be true, but on our planet there is one world ocean that is connected globally and must be cared for as one big blue body of water.
World Ocean Day has grown into a worldwide wave of action over the years, with events in over 140 countries. From scuba divers in Bali to students in Florida, millions of people join forces to protect the big blue.
Why Does The Ocean Need a Day?
The oceans are kind of a big deal. Here’s why they deserve our love, attention, and protection:
- They produce 50–70% of the oxygen we breathe (yes, more than trees!).
- They regulate Earth’s climate, absorbing heat and carbon dioxide.
- They feed billions through fisheries and aquaculture.
- They provide jobs for hundreds of millions of people.
- They’re home to 95% of Earth’s biodiversity—including coral reefs, whales, sea turtles, and of course… sharks!
But our oceans are under pressure. Plastic pollution, oil spills, acidification, warming waters, and overfishing are just a few of the challenges. That’s why World Ocean Day isn’t just about celebration—it’s about action.
Our 2025 World Ocean Weekend!
This year we celebrated World Ocean Day all weekend long by partnering with Manatee County Natural Resources and The Florida Aquarium to spread awareness and clean up our local ocean areas!
Manatee County World Ocean Day Celebration
This year we were invited to participate in an event sponsored by Manatee County Natural Resources celebrating World Ocean Day on Saturday July 7th at Robinson Preserve. In preparation for this event we decided that the most fun thing we could bring to this hands on, family friendly event was critters!
Over this past week we went out collecting, searching for some of the best critters for a touch tank. While our goal was things like starfish, sea urchins, and horseshoe crabs; the weather wasn’t cooperating but we did end up with some cute little animals like a hermit crab, a stone crab, a spider crab, a crown conch, a tulip snail, several pipefish, and an adorable little blenny!
One of the most amazing things that happens when you’re on the other side of the table at these events is getting to see the delight and wonder in faces of all ages. From the small kiddos who are obsessed with all things ocean wanting to hold and touch all the animals to the adults who are unsure but willing to face their fears and hold the creepy looking spider crab, all of these experiences remind me how important it is to continue to teach and show not just my students, but everyone, how amazing the ocean and all of its creatures are.
It’s even more important to highlight the local animals that visitors and residents see all the time but have no frame of reference to identify. These are some of my favorite interactions because you can see the lightbulb in their eyes, you can tell that knowing what animal this is is going to make them more aware of their surroundings and more excited about the local area.
The Florida Aquarium World Ocean Day Clean Up
This morning on World Ocean Day itself we spent the morning helping The Florida Aquarium clean up their local mangrove area at Davis Island’s Boat Ramp and Dog Beach. Divers were set up in the water to get trash and debris from the boat ramp while we walked along the mangroves and roadway to clean up litter that washed up.
The divers brought up huge and crazy things like mangled crab traps, patron bottles, old chairs, and even steering wheels! While we walked along the roadway we found a ripped up parking ticket, half of a brick, a lunch box, many (so many) chip bags, soda and beer cans, bottles, and lids, and even a boat fender!
This event was all about joining together to help bring the local region back to a healthy, clean, trash free area and with several pounds of trash per bag we certainly put a dent in it!
Events like this clean up inspire us to work more towards getting students, parents, and locals out there cleaning up their backyard waterways on their own and with groups! It makes us even more excited for the coming school year where we can get some kayak and beach clean ups in again!
World Ocean Day, Everyday
While we love that the ocean gets a day to be celebrated and loved for the important and beautiful feature of our planet it is, World Ocean Day, much like Earth Day, should be every day. Our planet is over 70% water and that water is what makes this world habitable and enjoyable for all of us who live here, so we need to protect it not just one day a year. We should build habits that center around keeping the oceans healthy like picking up and depositing of trash responsibly, reducing our plastic usage, and keeping our carbon footprint low.
Remember, our planet is known as the Blue Planet for a reason, let’s keep our oceans clean and happy so we can stay that way!
