Ocean literacy

One of the many things I have been considering as I seek funding, work with (sea)grassroots to NGO’s, and learning more about the Oceans has been “how do I get others to learn and engage with the open ocean?”.

Equally important has been “What do I know about the Oceans?”. Apparently not much. We all know there is so much going on from what we hear in the news about local beach clean ups, ocean acidification, and microplastics. But Ocean Literacy, the understanding of of how the ocean affects us and how we affect the ocean, is still quite poor based of my deep dive into the topic this past month. I’m even barely scratching the surface myself.

In the lane I’m swimming, I started with UNESCO’s Ocean Literacy and Ocean Decade websites. I wanted to understand how to convey the message I’m seeing and learning along this Clipper Race. I wanted to be able to assist the organizations I contribute my time to with the best possible knowledge. And as always one reading led to another. Each following along the lines of regional learnings, funding challenges, and down to topics that had personal impact.

So here are some of the topics I have found useful to me. Each can give some perspective on the challenge that is ahead of educating how vital the oceans are to our everyday lives. And each may lead you down your own path of interest, knowledge and sharing to your respective group of family and friends.

Papers Worth Reading:

Advancing Inclusive and Actionable Ocean Science: A Values-Driven Approach to Funding, Knowledge, and Leadership - IOC of UNESCO (2026), UNESCO, Paris (The Ocean Decade Series, 71)

Exploring Our Oceans: Using the Global Classroom to Develop Ocean Literacy - Sarah Fielding, Jonathan Copley, Rachel A. Mills

Ocean literacies: the promise of Regional Approaches integrating Ocean histories and psychologies - Kathleen Schwerdtner, Susanne Stoll-Kleemann, Helen M. Rozwadoski

Ocean literacy research community: co-identifying gaps and priorities to advance the UN Ocean Decade - Jen McRuer, Emma McKinley, Diz L. Glithero, Martha Paiz-Domingo

Successful Blue Economy Examples With an Emphasis on International Perspectives - Lu Wenhai, Caroline Cusack, Maria Baker, Wang Tao, Chen Mingbao, Kelli Paige, Zhang Xiaofan, Lisa Levin, Elva Escobar, Diva Amon, Yin Yue, Anja Reitz, Antonio Augusto Sepp Neves, Elenor O’Rourke, Gianandrea Mannarini, Jay Pearlman, Jonathan Tinker, Kevin J. Horsburgh, Patrick Lehody, Sylvie Pouliquen, Trine Dale, Zhao Peng, Yang YuFeng

Ocean Literacy among Taiwanese and Japanese High School Students - Liang-Ting Tsai, Tsuyoshi Sasaki, Chin-Kuo Wu, Cheng-Chieh Chang