If you haven’t seen it yet, we highly recommend watching Seaspiracy—the new Netflix documentary.
“Passionate about ocean life, a filmmaker sets out to document the harm that humans do to
marine species—and uncovers alarming global corruption.” Netflix.
Here at Bawah Reserve, we take the protection of the ocean and marine life very seriously. In fact, the six islands that makeup Bawah Reserve were officially made a protected marine conservation area, one of the first in Indonesia, in which anchoring, fishing (up to 500 m from the barrier reefs), and the collection of any dead or alive coral and shells are both prohibited and illegal.
We were also very proud to become part of the WWF Blue Signing programme in 2019, an initiative to further support marine conservation in the Anambas Archipelago.
Video - 2017. The biggest ghost fishing net bundle we have cleared from our reefs.
The Seaspiracy documentary highlights issues the world is facing in regard to the harm and damage to the sea that is happening on a global scale. We have picked out the most alarming facts and will share some of the things we are doing to stop this, many of which are things you can also do.
1) 90% of the world’s large fish have been wiped out by overfishing.
2) 46% of the Great Pacific garbage patch is comprised of fishing nets.
3) 3.9 billion acres of the seafloor are deforested every year by trawling.
4) 250,000 sea turtles are captured, injured, or killed by the fishing industry every year in the US.
5) 300,000 dolphins, porpoises, and whales are killed in fishing nets every year, along with 30,000 sharks per hour.
Image: Bawah turtle rescue.
1) Attend local beach clean-ups. By cleaning up the shore you will be helping to eliminate the waste that enters the ocean and endangers marine life. More Information here.
2) Support charities and foundations like the Anambas Foundation that are helping communities find alternative livelihoods to fishing.
3) Limit travel to sustainable resorts. If you are looking at a holiday in Indonesia, for example, a good place to start is the blue allies map from WWF for a list of resorts that follow good marine tourism practices.
4) Shift to a plant-based or flexitarian diet, eating less mass-produced meat and fish. Learn more here.
5) Add your name to big campaigns like Greenpeace to help cover the planet in ocean sanctuaries and call on governments to agree to a strong Global Ocean Treaty at the UN. Look for ways to act for these causes.
6) Eliminate single-use plastic. This is one of the most important steps you can take to help protect the ocean and marine life. Avoid bottled water and plastic straws, carry reusable shopping bags, shop at a farmer’s market, switch from bottles to bars for beauty products, and try not to purchase clothing made of plastic – small steps you can take to limit your disposable plastic use.
Buy the Bawah bottle here.
7) Treat water as a precious resource.
8) Learn more about coral reefs, some of the most diverse ecosystems on the planet, and how you can explore and protect them. Learn more here.
9) Get more involved with marine conservation. You can donate to organisations like The Ocean Foundation or The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) whom both support marine conservation globally. You can also get hands-on experience through marine conservation dives that allow you to support coral growth
10) Share this blog with family and friends and encourage them to also make small changes.
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