World Oceans Day is June 8

As we mark World Oceans Day this year, Canadians are physically apart, but together we are here for Canada. We are determined, collaborating, and innovating during COVID-19.

The theme for World Oceans Day this year is innovation. This year we celebrate the incredible work that our fishers, industry, researchers, communities, public servants and Indigenous peoples do every day, and especially now. We celebrate that even though we are apart, we continue to work together, we are strong, and we are here for Canada.

Together over the past year we have/are:

• Funded local communities and organizations so they can rehabilitate some of our most vulnerable coastlines and protect marine life and ecosystems under the Coastal Restoration Fund
• Explored innovative fishing technologies to protect whales and stop the spread of ocean plastics by bringing together 250 fish harvesters, industry representatives, fishing gear manufacturers, marine mammal responders, environmentalists, and government officials from Canada, the United States, Iceland and Norway at the Gear Innovation Summit
• Worked with local fish harvesters and communities to tackle Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing
• Worked to find solutions to combat marine litter and ghost gear by working with industry, the G7, the United Nations and the International Maritime Organization's (IMO) Marine Environment Protection Committee (MEPC),
• Launched plastics challenges through the Innovative Solutions Canada program, supporting Canadian small businesses to develop innovative technologies to help clean up our oceans and waterways and minimize impacts of ghost gear.
• Supported Canadians and Indigenous peoples to help protect and recover aquatic species at risk, with support from the Aboriginal Fund for Species at Risk and Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk
• Worked together with Canadians from coast to coast to coast to surpass our international commitment l to protect 10% of our marine and coastal areas by 2020, and set a new goal to achieve 25% by 2025.
• Hosted the North Atlantic workshop and collaborated with other countries to prepare for the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science.
• Partnered with MEOPAR to fund the Canadian Integrated Ocean Observation System, which will provide access to oceanographic data in Canada.
• Worked with provinces, territories, the Fisheries Joint Management Committee, and Environment and Climate Change Canada to release the Canada's State of the Ocean Reports on the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans. These public reports are part of an annual series on the current status and trends of marine ecosystems in Canada's oceans.
• Provided support during the COVID-19 pandemic to stabilize our fishing and processing sectors, including the Canadian Seafood Stabilization Fund, the Fish Harvester Benefit and the Fish Harvester Grant.
• Coast Guard crews are first responders and are on the job during this COVID-19 pandemic. Canadian Coast Guard is continuing its work to ensure mariners are safe, the marine environment is protected from pollution and to ensure ships can move goods and supplies which support the economy across the country.
• Working with universities, Indigenous and coastal communities across Canada, the Multi-Partner Research Initiative and Coastal Environmental Baseline Program are bringing together the best researchers from across Canada and around the world to help protect and restore ocean ecosystems
• Provided a national platform for the delivery of Coast Guard services with Canada's fleet of icebreakers and other vessels, as well as a range of programs for other departments and agencies, such as ecosystem and oceans science, and surveying and charting in the Arctic.
• Supported Canadians by carrying out search and rescue, environmental response, aids to navigation, maritime security, and Marine Communications and Traffic Services (MCTS) across the country through the Coast Guard
• Accepted two new Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels into the Coast Guard fleet under the National Shipbuilding Strategy with a third one on the way this year (2020)
• Worked with students who are crewing Inshore Rescue Boat Stations across the country
• Established four Primary Environmental Response Teams that strengthen the Coast Guard's on-the-scene capacity to respond to marine pollution incidents

Virtual events will be held across Canada. Find one near you!

National

When we do it together, we do it better!

Calling all kids! When it comes to nature, you guys really know your stuff. Show us your ideas by drawing a picture of how you would like to help our oceans, and then get your parents to either send it to our Facebook page or post it on Twitter and tag our account. We may then share it with the world for World Oceans Day!

Newfoundland and Labrador

In Newfoundland and Labrador, we're sad to be physical distancing from all our friends and the critters in our touch tank this World Oceans Day. But we are celebrating from June 1-8 with lots of exciting and interactive virtual activities! Learn about how you can help protect our oceans by joining the fun online at https://www.facebook.com/WODNL/

Pacific

Pacific, Yukon and British Columbia are connected in many ways, including by our rivers which flow through to the Pacific Ocean! We encourage you to take this opportunity to check out and join local online events and learn more about the importance of the Pacific Ocean and steps you can take to protect it.

Maritimes

From June 5-14th, DFO Maritimes will be participating in this year's digital Oceans Week HFX. For more information and to join in on the virtual fun, visit http://www.oceansweek.ca/

Why our oceans are important

Canada is an ocean rich country. We have the world's longest coastline linking three different oceans –Atlantic, Arctic, and Pacific. Our oceans are not only home to an immense web of marine life, they also generate half of the oxygen we breathe, act as thermostats to regulate the Earth's temperature, and support a majority of our planet's biodiversity. The coastal ecosystems that surround our oceans are also important as they support a wide diversity of marine and terrestrial species.

As Canadians, we are all connected to our oceans, which are significant to our heritage, culture, and economy, and essential to all life on the planet.

By exploring our links to the oceans, we learn just how closely connected we are to these vast bodies of water, and how what we do in our own backyards can impact them.

Water travels from our oceans into lakes and rivers, into the atmosphere, and then back to our oceans again. Our water resources are limited. The water present now on Earth is all there is. Protection of our oceans starts with protection of our rivers, and protection of our rivers starts with each of us.

Taking care of our oceans is a priority and there are many different organizations, communities and individuals that work together to protect and conserve our oceans.

To find out more about the actions the Government of Canada is taking to protect and conserve our oceans for future generations, visit our Canada's Oceans Agenda webpage.

The Government of Canada proposed the concept of World Oceans Day at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the day has been celebrated internationally ever since. June 8 has been officially declared by the United Nations as "World Oceans Day".

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest information and share photos of your World Oceans Day celebration using #WorldOceansDay.

Many other organizations sponsor World Oceans Day activities. For more information, visit WorldOceansDay.org, WorldOceansDay.ca or UNESCO.org.