Picture of our stand at the World Ocean Day celebrated recently on Bofa Beach, Kilifi.
World Ocean Day is an opportunity every year to honor the world’s oceans, celebrate the products the ocean provides such as seafood as well as marine life itself for aquariums, pets, and also a time to appreciate its own intrinsic value. The ocean also provides sea-lanes for international trade.
Global pollution and over-consumption of fish have resulted in drastically dwindling population of the majority of species.
The Ocean Project, working in partnership with the World Ocean Network, has been promoting WOD since 2003 with its network of over 1,600 organizations and others throughout the world. These groups have been working to build greater awareness of the crucial role of the ocean in our lives and the important ways people can help. World Oceans Day provides an opportunity to get directly involved in protecting our future, through a new mindset and personal and community action and involvement – beach cleanups, educational programs, art contests, film festivals, sustainable seafood events, and other planned activities help to raise consciousness of how our lives depend on the oceans.
This years Theme for World Ocean Day 2012 was Youth: The Next Wave for Change.
Participating at this years events where a number of primary & secondary schools from Mombasa and Kilifi and Kenya Scouts. The program for the day consisted of a procession by the schools down to the beach, followed by a beach clean up.
A guided tour of the exhibitions followed by official speeches. Various schools then took part in Songs, Poems and Skits. Prize giving followed for various awards – Inter Schools Debates, Art & Essays.
The Director of Eco-Ethics the main event organisers thanked Captain Andys and The Indian Ocean Power Boat School for being part of this years event and requested that Fisheries look into training programs for their respective BMU’s.