According to the World Economic Forum:  “There will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050 if we continue on the path we are on.”

Welcome to World Oceans Day 2016. With recent headlines confirming the catastrophic state of the Great Barrier Reef (an “extreme eco-system meltdown”) it’s a grim time for our beautiful oceans. It’s no wonder that a new poll finds that 90% of Canadians are worried about our oceans, with more than three-quarters of those polled believe we’re not doing enough to conserve and protect them.

Want to be part of the solution?  Here are two baby steps to get you started:

First off:  drop the plastic water bottle habit. Conservative estimates indicate that over 4.8 million tonnes of plastic waste are dumped into our oceans every year.   Without action, plastic pollution in oceans will outweigh fish by 2050.

Second:  As food lovers, we need to develop a healthy understanding of sustainable seafood.  It wasn’t long ago that the ocean’s bounty was considered limitless.  Sadly, modern fishing practices and the growing demand for seafood have pushed the world’s fisheries to the brink.  70 percent are exploited, overexploited, or have already suffered a collapse.  So educate yourself – use this handy cheat sheet to get started.

Don’t think you can’t help improve our oceans one smart seafood order at a time.  A new report shows that consumer demand for seafood with sustainable certification accounts for 14% of the global market – up from less than 1% a decade ago.

“You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is like an ocean; if a few drops of the ocean are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty.” ― Mahatma Gandhi