Celebrating our oceans

Thomas O’brien learned about seals by looking at their skulls at World Oceans Day at the Marine Institute’s 7th annual World Oceans Day event Saturday afternoon

World Ocean’s Day is officially held on June 8 every year, but to kick off the celebrations early, the Marine Institute hosted it’s 7th annual World Oceans Day event Saturday afternoon.

The event featured dozens of exhibits and typically attracts upwards of a couple thousand attendees every year.

At Saturday’s event, the Marine Institute was filled with families and young children who could be seen learning how to make reusable bags out of old T-shirts, learning about ocean species through a touch tank exhibit, and trying their hand at operating a miniature remotely operated vehicle.

“As Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, our culture and way of life is tied to the ocean,” said Geoff Coughlan, the Marine Institute representative on the World Oceans Day organizing committee.

“With coastal living, fisheries, and now growing oil and gas and aquaculture, we have a real connection to the ocean, and the heath of the ocean is of utmost importance to us. So, learning about the environment, learning about the different ways that we can have an impact ourselves to reduce negative impacts on the ocean is important.”

“This event raises awareness for kids and families, and who knows, we might have a future marine biologist coming to visit here who might be five or six years old and it piques their interest. It also gets people talking about the importance of keeping our oceans healthy.”

The event was organized by the federal and provincial government, the Marine Institute, Ffaw-unifor, CPAWS, and WWF.

JUANITA MERCER/THE TELEGRAM

JUANITA MERCER/THE TELEGRAM Seven-year-old Alyssa Smith exclaimed, “I got to hold a tiny starfish!” Her mother, Amanda Smith, said she thought it was important to bring her children to the event because “they learn about our oceans and how to protect them, which is important for them to learn about.”

JUANITA MERCER/THE TELEGRAM Brittany Keough with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans explains ways people can decrease their use of plastic while handing out paper straws to get them thinking about ditching their use of all plastic cutlery.

JUANITA MERCER/THE TELEGRAM Attendees could bring old T-shirts and learn how to turn them into reusable bags with the Better Bag Challenge.

JUANITA MERCER/THE TELEGRAM Three-year-old Keyanna Mcneil said getting to touch sea creatures, like this sea cucumber, was her favourite part of the event.

JUANITA MERCER/THE TELEGRAM Geoff Coughlan is an instructor at the school of fisheries and the Marine Institute representative on the World Oceans Day organizing committee. He said the event usually draws about 2,000 people every year since they started hosting it seven years ago.

JUANITA MERCER/THE TELEGRAM People could tour a fisheries patrol boat.

JUANITA MERCER/THE TELEGRAM Trent Hardy showed attendees the creative way he helps to keep oceans clean—by finding old fishing rope and repurposing it by making mats through his Waste Knot Want Knot business.