World Oceans Day, June 8th, celebrates life in the oceans. It draws our attention to what’s happening to the coral reefs, to the ever-dwindling number of fish and other animals, to the warming and acidification of the seas, to the hundreds of millions of tons of plastic in huge garbage patches, and to so many other troubles faced by the denizens of the deep.
But there’s another group of marine animals we should also remember on World Oceans Day: those who belong in the oceans but who cannot experience them. They are, instead, held in concrete tanks, where they’re put on display in aquariums and marine parks across the globe.
Imagine having a nature made for a life in the ocean and not even knowing it exists.Some of them were taken from their natural home when they were children and have not seen it since. Most were born in a tank and have never seen the ocean. Imagine having a nature made for a life in the ocean and not even knowing it exists.
But this can change when we create seaside sanctuaries where they can experience the ocean for themselves. Seaside sanctuaries can give them back their lives and their autonomy, while enabling us to give them the care and attention they will still need.
Our mission at the Whale Sanctuary Project is to establish a model seaside sanctuary where whales and dolphins who are retired from concrete tanks in the coming years can live in an environment that’s as close as possible to their natural habitat.
With your help, and by the time next year’s World Oceans Day comes around, we will have chosen a location and will have begun to create the first seaside sanctuary.
Together we can give back to these magnificent creatures something of the world they have never known: their true world, the world of the oceans.
Thank you for helping make today and everyday their ocean and their future!