As Dominica joins the rest of the world to recognize ‘World Oceans Day’ today (June 8), Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Blue and Green Economy, Jullan Defoe urged the public to take action to protect and restore the ecosystem.
He made the call during an address in observance of World Oceans Day under the theme: “Planet Ocean: tides are changing.”
“As we join the rest of the world in celebrating the beauty and wonder of our oceans, we cannot ignore the challenges we face,” he said. “Human activities such as pollution have taken a toll on our marine ecosystems, threatening their health and resilience capabilities.”
Defoe continued, “The tides of change are upon us and it is imperative that we take decisive action to protect and restore the ecosystem, services our oceans provide.”
Furthermore, he said as a nation significant progress has been made in the conservation and protection of the country’s marine space and its resources.
“Considering our land area is just 754 square kilometers, whereas the marine space within Dominica’s exclusive economic zone is 28,500 square kilometers, approximately 38 times larger than the land area,” Defoe explained.
He said the Government of Dominica has demonstrated its commitment to ocean conservation and as such has taken decisive action from an international and national perspective, which include, but are not limited to, accession to the United Nations Food and Agriculture agreement and court-state measures to combat illegal and unregulated and unreported fishing in 2016.
Defoe pointed out that in 2019 Dominica placed a ban on single-use plastic.
“This is Dominica’s significant and impactful contribution towards addressing the global issue of plastic pollution and its impact on the marine environment and resources thereof,” Defoe stated.
He added, “In 2023 the Cabinet approved for the gazetting of fisheries regulations that will provide structure and enforcement for sustainable utilization of our fisheries resources.”
Defoe went on to state that in November 2023 Dominica announced the establishment of the world’s first sperm whale reserve.
“This initiative is primarily for the protection of our residential population of sperm whales and to increase the percentage of marine space,” he explained.”These interventions within our marine space support two main objectives articulated by the Honourable Prime Minister. The first being, to become the first climate resilient nation in the world and the second, the call for agriculture to contribute 700 million-dollars to Dominica’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by the year 2030.”
Defoe called on all Dominicans to join hands in a concerted effort to safeguard the country’s oceans for future generations.
“We all can play a part in the protection of our ocean with simple but rewarding actions such as proper disposal of your garbage,” he urged. “And I challenge you to begin today. On this World’s Ocean Day let us reaffirm our commitment to the conservation and the sustainable use of our oceans.”
“Together let us harness the power of collective action to turn the tide and create a brighter future for our planet’s ocean.”
The Oceans covering over 70 percent of our planet are not just mass bodies of water. They are the lifeblood of our planet regulating climate, providing sustenance, and supporting vast biodiversity.
The collective oceanic waters are responsible for supplying between 5o-85 percent of the oxygen within our atmosphere and absorbing about 33 percent of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, which is a reminder of the critical role our oceans play in sustaining life on earth.
Feller you just running your damn mouth. Talk to your Chinese buddies first of all. Tell them stop dumping earth and other debris our rivers. Next talk to your other construction and developer friends about where the dumping their waste cement (usually in the rivers) and washing their cement trucks (in the river too). right next to the layou river you have someone making colass. Then you have people just abandoning vehicles on the roadside. I notice pond casse is the new place to set them on fire and abandon them. Arent the owners being charged? You have road failure all over. Minister for Fisheries you allow fishermen in places like fond cole to sell fish in the open air outside with no ice in front of their dedicated fisheries buildings that should be used. i could go on and on. but you will still spew the usually nonsense rhetoric with the popular jargon and catch phrases of the time. i even hear our birds have been spotted in other islands. idk how true that is but that is a sign
Skerrit overshadowing all of all you.
you can’t shine Boss.
we out dere don’t think that you contribute anything to our development.
all you represent Skerrit not de people Dat put a mark next to your name in de last general election
to much talk…just like your boss. birds of a feather….shut up