The Nature Conservancy. Protecting nature. Preserving life.™

We call it the "Blue Planet" for a reason: Oceans cover more than 70 percent of the globe.

From our oceans, we get fish to eat, clean air to breathe, as yet undiscovered medicines to treat disease and new places to harness energy. Whether we live near the coast, or far inland, the oceans make our lives better.

Deep and vast, the oceans contain 99 percent of living space – and more than half the species – on Earth. But even the sea has limits. Much is demanded from our oceans, and little is protected.
Today’s decisions will determine how the oceans are used over the next century. So, the Nature Conservancy is investing in solutions to the common problems facing oceans across the globe:

• Overcrowding from human uses;
• Unsustainable fisheries;
• Degraded reefs; and
• Rising ocean temperatures and sea levels.

Focusing on the national waters where our rivers flow into the sea – and one-third of all people on earth live, work and play – the Nature Conservancy is working to make our oceans healthier.
We need everyone’s help.

Our practical choices and everyday actions can help ensure that corals and shellfish reefs thrive, that coastal communities are protected, and that fish stocks are stable so people can sustainably harvest food from the sea.

For oceans to keep sustaining us with food, work and recreation, we must find a way to sustain them.