5 Reasons Why We Don’t Value the Ocean

Written by Richard Vevers

I have spent the last two decades thinking about a bizarre situation that I find fascinating; Why is it that humanity has developed a view of the ocean that’s so profoundly different from reality? 

The ocean is, without a doubt, the most important thing on Earth. It’s what supports life. It’s the key to humanity’s ability to thrive. However, very few people ever refer to the ocean in this way or think it’s important enough to want to really understand it or give it the attention it deserves.

Like I said: It’s bizarre. The science couldn’t be clearer; the ocean has a huge impact on our lives, regardless of where we live, through its influence on the atmosphere, weather, and even the global economy. The ocean (and ocean life) has even been proven to have a central role in climate change and is key to solving the crisis. Yet we still can’t seem to get too interested in it other than as the source of seafood and fun.

I’ve come to the conclusion there are 5 reasons why we undervalue the importance of the ocean: 

1. We look at the ocean from a terrestrial perspective. We almost entirely focus on the ocean we can see and easily access — the coastal ocean with its sunlit shallow water. However, this “ocean edge” is nothing like the vast majority of the ocean that supports life on Earth. It is the “transition zone” that more closely resembles our terrestrial world than the deep ocean beyond the horizon. By focusing on the coastal ocean we get a completely false impression of the ocean and fail to see its true importance.

2. We’re shown the ocean from a conservation, rather than scientific, perspective. Because we undervalue the importance of the ocean, there’s a lack of support for ocean science communication. As a result, communications are more often conservation-focused – using imagery specifically chosen to make the ocean and ocean life appear as cute as possible and in dire need of saving. These communications are designed to target a niche group of people, interested in marine conservation, and inspire them to act, rather than educate the broader public. Once more, it’s often not representative of the ocean as a whole.

3. Almost no one receives an ocean education. The ocean rarely gets taught about in schools in any meaningful way. People are left without even a basic understanding of it (it’s not officially on the curriculum in any country). Even when people try to learn about the ocean on their own, many of the most important facts are hidden away in scientific papers. For example, have you ever heard of the Sound Scattering Layer in the ocean, where two-thirds of the animals on the planet live? Or the fact that microbes are so plentiful that they weigh more than all other planetary life combined – and the fact they play a huge role in regulating the climate? When was the last time ocean microbes got a mention in climate change discussions? By not teaching about the ocean, we reinforce the idea that the ocean isn’t important.

4. Most of the ocean is impossible to visualize. It’s easy to look at ocean imagery and get a completely wrong impression. The fact is, the ocean is an extradimensional space where life spreads out in all directions, unlike on land. It’s easy to think that the ocean is largely devoid of life when it’s actually full of it, it’s just spread out in all directions, or so small it can’t be seen. Even when the deep ocean floor is photographed, the artificial lighting often makes images look like they were taken in shallow water. It’s impossible to see how vastly different this extreme environment really is. 

5. Ocean science is rarely marketed. The lack of awareness about the importance of the ocean means that funding for ocean science is scarce. Compared to the marketing of space science there is almost no funding for ocean science communication that gets people excited about the ocean and ocean science. Sadly, so many great discoveries that could ignite our interest and understanding of the ocean’s importance go unnoticed.

Together these five issues have, over time, created an issue that’s self-perpetuating - a subconscious belief that the ocean is not that important. As a result, we subconsciously ignore most ocean-related communication and rapidly forget most of the information we do allow into our overloaded brains. 

Our flawed view of the ocean has completely undermined support for ocean science and conservation for decades, and as a result, we are missing out on the ocean’s enormous potential for solving some of humanity’s greatest challenges.

Changing entrenched beliefs isn’t easy, but it is possible. It just takes an understanding of the belief that needs changing and creativity to solve the challenge. Acknowledging that we even have an issue would be a big first step. Our flawed view of the ocean is the single biggest issue holding back ocean science and conservation. Unfortunately, few are aware of it – and we’re looking to change that!

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