Throughout 2018 our marine biologists here at Love The Oceans will be doing blog posts on topics of Named Days. To keep up to date, follow this blog, also found under the ‘News’ tab on our website. Without further ado, in celebration of World Oceans Day 2018, I introduce our fourteenth blog in this marine series:

World Oceans Day: Dive In!

It’s official – it’s the best day of the year; World Oceans Day! So in honour of our favourite day, we want to give you a list of our favourite Ocean-related things, all ready to start using today:
The best marine conservation documentaries
The list of brilliant marine conservation documentaries is virtually endless, so we’ve decided to pick 3 of the documentaries we think everyone should watch:
Blue Planet I and II
When it comes to marine documentaries Blue Planet is an obvious first and all-time favourite. The first ‘season’, The Blue Planet, is an award-winning introduction to our oceans: In 8 episodes Sir David Attenborough (yet another reason to love the series!) narrates us through every marine environment, covering everything from unexplored deep oceans, to sunny coral reefs and life under the ice at the poles. ‘Season’ two, Blue Planet II, revisits the environments from the first season, but this time critically examining anthropogenic activities and the impact we have on the oceans.
BBC Shark
THE shark documentary. There is no shortage of documentaries describing hunting behaviour in sharks and, unfortunately, depicting sharks as ruthless, man-eating killers, but very few contain any information about other aspects of the lives of our sharky friends. BBC has done a wonderful job of filming the less-documented aspects, making it an absolute must-see: In three episodes the series covers the hunting behaviour and senses that make sharks the phenomenal predators we know them as, the complex social interactions and secret reproductive behaviour, and finally the multiple threats sharks face.
Mission Blue
Perhaps you already know that Mission Blue is a global collation of researchers, influencers and advocates working to promote awareness, access and support for a worldwide network of marine protected areas (Hope Spots), otherwise we suggest watching this documentary as your introduction.
Mission Blue’s founder Dr Sylvia Earle is about as famous as marine biologists come: First female chief scientist at NOAA became famous for her underwater and deep ocean research, and not least for daring to present the inconvenient truth about the state of our oceans.
The coastline where Love The Oceans operates has recently been nominated as a Hope Spot through the Mission Blue Foundation.
The best marine conservation initiatives and campaigns (apart from Love The Oceans 😉 )
#StopSucking For A Strawless Ocean
Your straw is an unnecessary accessory to our drink, with lethal effects on wildlife and a terrible ecological footprint. So #StopSucking and ditch the straw today – it’s the easiest, fastest and cheapest way to make an instant difference. All you have to do is say: ‘No straw, please’. And if you really need your straw there are lots of great, sustainable alternatives: re-useable straws made of glass or stainless steel, or even single-use straws made of paper, bamboo or edible materials.
Make your social media pledge here.
#take3forthesea
The thing about good intentions is, they have a way of staying just that … intentions without any action. And although we would all love to make a difference, taking a whole day out of your calendar to do a beach clean-up might be a bit much for some of us. So here it is: Next time you go for a walk, pick up three pieces of trash. Just three. You can manage that. And yes – those three pieces do make a difference.
Simple as can be: Pick it up. Bin it.
Project Aware: Dive Against Debris
If you love the oceans and you’re a diver, Dive Against Debrisshould be right up your alley. You can either sign up for one of Project Aware’s events or you can simply pick up debris if and when you come across it on your dives (hopefully, you already do this).
Start by downloading the Dive Against Debris app: It helps you log the debris you collect, give you access to survey toolkits and helps you find the nearest event – all the best dive conservation tools, right in your pocket!
The best social media accounts
Facebook can be a lot more than cat-videos, memes and reminders about friends’ birthdays. Be smart about your social media use and turn your news feed into an actual newsfeed by following the right people and organisations. There is a virtually endless selection of great organisations and researchers to follow so we have selected the three funniest, smartest and sharkiest (apart from @lovetheoceans, obviously 😉 ):
Thomas Peschak
Thomas is a National Geographic photographer and has published quite a few awe-inspiring marine photography books (we definitely recommend taking a look at these! His social media accounts are great at quick fun facts about a lot of different areas in the marine world with some hilarious jokes thrown in. He’s also a founding director of the Manta Trust and senior fellow of the International League of Conservation Photographers! Thomas has actually donated a few of his photography books to Love The Oceans to aid our teaching efforts in our local schools which went down a storm with the kids. We particularly love his book Sharks and People. You can follow him on facebook here.
Simon J Pierce
Where it comes to marine puns whale shark researcher and underwater photographer Simon J Pierce has got to be one of the best. Simon manages to deliver a delicate and entertaining mixture of amazing underwater photos, shark research news and excellent marine-related jokes. He’s a marine conservation biologist and underwater photographer. You can follow him on facebook here.

The Physics Girl
Whilst not directly related to marine biology (clearly indicated by the name!) Physics Girl is a great informative and funny social media account to follow! Dianna Cowern is the creater of Physics Girl and Sophie Chen the writer. Both women are heavily involved in STEM and promoting science, making it more accessible to the public. Both studied physics at University, Dianna worked at UCSD as a Science Outreach Coordinator and Sophia works as a freelance Science Writer in Arizona. They have a website and a blog you can follow but also have facebook and twitter streams. You can follow their facebook here.

Hopefully you’ll find these links and info as useful as our staff and volunteers have! Love The Oceans also runs it’s own blog (which you are looking at already if you’re reading this!) which is manned by our marine biologists and covers a huge range of content! We post this on our social media platforms too and you can follow our Instagram and twitter on the handle @lovetheoceans and our facebook on @lovetheoceansorganisaton. For June we’re also running an oceans cleanup campaign with a swimsuit company called Deakin and Blue. For every swimsuit sold we remove 2kg of trash from the beaches and oceans. All of Deakin and Blue’s suits are made of recycled and regenerated materials so you can treat yourself to a new cossie whilst saving the ocean at the same time! Get your swim suit here.
We hope your World Oceans Day 2018 is awesome and enjoy it!! The world is covered in over 70% water after all….