Defying Ocean's End - Communications

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Quick Facts:

Photo: Roger Steene

It is important to mobilize community support for new marine protected areas or the adoption of non-destructive fishing methods in places such as here in Milne Bay, Papua New Guinea.

Photo: Roderic Mast, CI

Pacific leatherback sea turtles, such as these newly hatched juveniles, are “charismatic animals that can function as potential “flagship” species in raising public awareness for marine conservation.

Click to view proposed regional communications efforts for marine conservation.

Communications

“We don’t care about what we cannot see.” This is one of the most challenging aspects of addressing the state of the world’s oceans: to fundamentally change the attitudes toward the oceans that we have held for millennia.

Widespread popular support is needed if marine conservation efforts are to be successful and sustainable. Conservation begins with people — they cause the problems and can help solve them. Consumers drive demand for sustainable fisheries. Coastal zone residents can insist on an end to upstream pollution. Constituencies drive policy-makers to adopt — or not — key regulations. Journalists set the agenda, create a sense of urgency, and inform the public about the problems, the causes, and the solutions behind key issues in marine conservation.

Marine scientists and conservationists must involve communications as an integral element of their strategies. With the help of communications professionals, we can launch a coordinated effort that produces a much better informed public — on a global scale — that changes mindsets, shatters the myth that the oceans are too vast to be irrevocably
damaged, and advocates dramatic shifts in behavior.

Public opinion polling for ocean issues is scarce. However, it does indicate that people care about the ocean and its health, despite knowing very little, being largely misinformed, and unaware of the current degree of threat. Communicators must take advantage of the existing positive attitude, build awareness of the threats, and instill a sense of urgency in target audiences — policy-makers, consumers, industry, and regional audiences — before widespread change can occur.

RECOMMENDED ACTIONS

• Launch a global marine conservation communications campaign within 3 years, addressing international policy and consumption issues, which will provide the context for regional and local efforts. For global outreach, use a combination of earned media, paid media, electronic media, and public service announcements distributed via the establishment of a World Ad Council for Defying Ocean’s End. Focus on thematic “hooks” such as overfishing and habitat destruction, seamounts, land/sea interactions, and ocean governance.

• Establish a network of regional communications nodes and train local people as staff to ensure culturally appropriate communications approaches linked with local conservation efforts. For regional outreach, use a mix of earned-media, paid media, events, education, and/or social marketing appropriate to each area. Launch regional efforts in 8 countries within 3 years, and in 12 additional areas within 10 years.