Why I Support Mission Blue: A Lifetime With the Ocean

I have been in love with the ocean since I was a small child.

We had a summer house at a beach on the east coast of Florida, where I went fishing with my father, and spent the first 20 years of my life swimming and surfing. We walked on the beach, collected shells, caught crabs to eat, watched sea turtles dig their nests and the eggs hatch, and put sargassum in a bucket of water to look at all of the tiny fish and sea life that lived in it.

My dad’s best friend was the head of marine biology at the University of Florida, so I was exposed at an early age to the wonders of the sea. I eventually received a degree in zoology at the University of Florida, where I also got to know Dr. Archie Carr.

The ocean was part of my life. And over that lifetime, I have watched it change.

© Bob Wallace

Witnessing what we have lost

Humans have always considered the ocean an unlimited resource: something we could keep taking from, and a dumping ground for our garbage.

In my life, I have witnessed the decline of so many aspects of nature and the ocean that, unfortunately, in our urbanized world, most people have no perception of. I remember the staghorn coral on the reefs of the Florida Keys. I remember the waters of Mosquito Lagoon near Cape Canaveral when they were clear and the seagrasses were lush gardens. Today, vast areas have changed dramatically. I have watched the fishing change, too. Offshore fishing for mackerel, tuna, mahi, and grouper is a shadow of what it was when I was a child. I have seen similar changes in the Bahamas.

And the problem is not confined to one coast or one country.

I recently returned from three months in Indonesia, where the amount of plastic in the water and on the beaches was mind-boggling. On a sailing trip in the Grenadines, I saw reefs covered in algae at a popular anchorage and locals selling tiny snapper to eat. Around the world, the devastation of fisheries — cod, tuna, salmon, halibut, anchovies, and king crab among them — has been well documented.

Too often, humans don’t stop harvesting until there aren’t any more left.

I have also witnessed recovery

There is another side to this story, and it is the reason I have hope.

There is ample proof that conservation efforts work. The ocean’s ability to repair itself is phenomenal. I have seen what happened in Florida following restrictions on gill-net fishing for mullet. Species such as redfish, snook, and tarpon that depend on this critical baitfish rebounded. Osprey and pelican populations rebounded. I have watched red snapper recover following strict limits on harvest. Whales that were once hunted almost to extinction are rebounding in many parts of the world.

When we give nature a chance, nature can respond. That is why conservation is imperative if we are going to save sea life, reefs, and the ocean before it is too late.

Why I support Mission Blue

Dr. Sylvia Earle and Mission Blue provide a solution to this devastation and a vision to restore the ocean to balance.

The only way to save sea life is to protect key areas. This is the proven promise of Hope Spots: identifying places that are critical to ocean health and building the support needed to protect them.

To me, Mission Blue represents one of the most powerful ways on our planet to accomplish this imperative work. It brings together the kind of conservation vision, scientific understanding, advocacy, and public engagement the ocean urgently needs. But protecting places is only part of the challenge. We also have to help people understand why those places matter.

Awareness can change the world

Education and communication are among the most important ways to expand the work and success of Mission Blue. In our modern urban society, many people have little direct experience with nature. At the same time, we are all competing for attention in an endless stream of videos, advertisements, and information.

Conservation cannot be absent from that conversation.

People need to know not only what is happening to the ocean, but that there is something actionable they can do to help repair and protect ocean life around the world. Dr. Earle is an example of how much one person can do to change the world. She has literally changed the world through her vision. Every one of us has this opportunity and ability, even if it is only being part of the greater effort. One member of the school of fish, so to speak.

It all starts with awareness and changing our own perception. Each of us, in our own way, can help others learn — our children, our friends, our associates.

This is the network and the belief that can change the world.

This story has been edited from Bob Wallace’s responses for length and clarity.