After more than a decade of discussions, negotiations and disagreements the United Nations have finally come to an agreement to protect our oceans.
The High Seas Treaty is an agreement to save planet earth, by putting 30% of the oceans in what we call a ‘protected zone’. The area this protection covers is called The High Seas. Before 6/3/23, (which is also 7 days ago) only 1% of the seas were in this protected zone. One per cent! Think about how little one per cent is, when we talk about all that ocean!
The High Seas Treaty will save marine animals from overfishing. You will not be permitted to fish in those areas. This way, we can preserve the species of these creatures for many more generations. In the protected zones, we will ban overfishing and fishing illegally because it is decreasing the opportunity to let those certain marine species live.
When you fish illegally, it means you take fish and other underwater life where it is banned to fish. When we do this we are killing the animals we did not have the right to interfere with, and this could technically be called poaching. Mainly poaching is where you go hunting illegally in regional areas of countries, but killing these innocent marine creatures, it’s almost exactly the same. That’s why the High Seas Treaty is an excellent way to prevent overfishing in our waters.
The High Seas Treaty will also impact climate change. Our ocean absorbs 90% of the excess heat from global warming. If all of the ocean was unhealthy and polluted, it couldn’t do this as well.
With the High Seas Treaty in place, our oceans are safer than ever. The best part is the agreement that the High Seas will not be interfered with until it has been assessed to be safe.
This matters because every step we take in saving our wildlife is a step closer to saving our oceans. Every step we take in saving our oceans is step closer to saving our planet.
