Six years of marine protection through knowledge. On 28 December 2019, more than two dozen marine conservationists founded ElasmOcean.
We began our message with the image of the rising Earth, photographed almost exactly 51 years earlier by astronaut William Anders aboard Apollo 8. This is because we still know more about the far side of the moon than about the two-thirds of our only Earth that are covered with water.
Since then we have (among other achievements)
assisted in actively initiating and continuously shaping the EU Citizens' Initiative StopFinningEU,
initiated our Northern Gannet project on Heligoland,
conducted over a dozen marine days (with and without "Sendung mit der Maus") in cooperation with Sharky Schwimmschulen, providing exciting learning hours on and in the water for over 600 children,
financially supported several DNA studies,
facilitated several film projects, and educated approximately 15,000 children in daycare centres and schools face-to-face through films, interviews, and financial support within our school programme,
funded surveys on sharks and their economic value off the Bahamas and the Azores,
delivered over 60 physical educational boxes (Schulboxen), which are estimated to reach at least 18,000 children,
equipped two international facilities in Mozambique and Indonesia with VR headsets for schoolchildren, thereby introducing over 10,000 children to the underwater world,
personally conducted over 500 guided tours and a well-attended lecture evening featuring Hannes Jaenicke at the "Planet Ozean" exhibition in the Gasometer Oberhausen,
published two children's books, and
spread our message on a daily basis and across all regions through our dedicated volunteer members, friends, supporters, and specialists!
As an exception, we are celebrating ourselves today, as we do every year, on ElasmOcean Day. We will continue this annual tradition. Because it is our anniversary, and because our mission is far from complete. Much remains to be done — the global forces working against marine and species conservation are gaining strength, rallying with final, powerful resistance against scientific truth. As Dr Eckart von Hirschhausen accurately stated, it is challenging to save a world on a voluntary basis that others are trying to destroy as their full-time occupation. This serves as our motivation.
We will continue our work, and indeed intensify it: we are constantly training to become stronger and more resilient, and we continue our efforts to protect the planet. Someone must make the attempt.
Who will join us? Who is with us?
Marine protection through knowledge.
(For a complete record of our achievements and activities: Our activity reports are available here as #05 - internal link)
