To the people of the world,
When my daughters were about 10 and 12 years old, we went as a family to the beach in Malibu to go swimming during the summer. We got on our suits and ran down to the beach to the water, anticipating that great cool feeling that you get when you dive in. But, we stopped. There were signs posted saying “swimming not allowed.” The water was contaminated and too dangerous. My girls were disappointed. I was disappointed. We wanted to swim! How could it be possible that something as large as the ocean could be too contaminated for swimming?
I grew up in Arizona, and in the summer we would go to southern California - we would go as a family and rent a house with our cousins, and we’d stay there for about a month. Growing up in the desert, going to the ocean was a pilgrimage.
Photo by Vasiliy Koval
It was so hot driving across the desert back then, in the early fifties, in cars that didn’t have air conditioning. I remember waking up in the car, in anticipation, as we approached San Juan Capistrano. You’d come over this hill, and we’d have a contest to see who could see the ocean first. The oceans have always been a magical place, a source of sustenance for me (and my family).
Unfortunately, our oceans right now are heading in the wrong direction. We are putting in too much pollution and taking too much fish out. The results are staggering, not only are beaches being closed but fish and creatures that we love are disappearing or becoming contaminated. Over 90% of the big fish that were around when I grew up (marlin, swordfish and tuna) have disappeared according to scientists. There is so much mercury in the water and marine ecosystems that government agencies are telling women and children to limit their consumption of tuna, swordfish, and other seafood.
Fortunately, if we do some commonsense things - like only taking what we need from the ocean, preserving rather than destroying habitat, and reducing the amount of pollution we put into the oceans - we can make the oceans even cleaner, healthier and more magical then they were when we were kids.
I want my children - and everyone else’s children and their children - to be able to get the kind of sustenance from the oceans that I’ve experienced.
I want swimmers to be able to swim, fishermen to catch fish, seafood lovers to be able to eat seafood. I want the oceans to be even better then they were when I was a kid. I want my grandchildren to be able to run down to the beach with their kids, and to be able to dive in.