Around a half of the global population lives in coastal areas. However, most citizens are not aware of the importance of the ocean in their lives at an economic, medical, social, political and environmental level. On the other side, most people are not conscious either of the impact that their actions have on the sea. Ocean health is being threatened as a result of anthropogenic activities such as greenhouse gases emissions causing global warming and acidification, plastic pollution or overfishing. In order to face all these challenges and protect the ocean we need the collaboration of the population together with stakeholders and policy makers. Ocean literacy is fundamental to raise awareness and reach that goal. People protect what they know and love. Therefore, improving public understanding of the importance of the ocean is key to face the issues affecting it. It is necessary to reach a critical mass to support policies to keep the ocean healthy. Reaching people through the emotions is a way to get the message across to the population. Here I will talk about my experience trying to reach people not familiar with the ocean through the writing of an outreach book. We will discuss different strategies to make people re-connect with the ocean.

Tutorial/Invited: Invited

Primary Presenter: Cristina Romera-Castillo, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar-CSIC (crisrc@icm.csic.es)

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