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Say Ocean, not oceans: Why there is only one Ocean
There is only one Ocean.
At school, we may learn that the Ocean has five separate regions, namely, the Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, Artic and Southern.
But our Ocean has no borders. It’s connected as one and it works as a whole to help make all life on Earth possible.
Connection with our Ocean
Talking about ‘our Ocean’ as one, unified system reinforces the notion of its interconnectedness.
What happens in one part of the Ocean can affect the entire system.
Here’s proof: When 29,000 rubber ducks were washed into the North Pacific, they began showing up thousands of miles away in Alaska, Washington just 10 months later.
This became known as “the quack heard around the world” and proved that a rubber duck (or a plastic bottle or other object) thrown or coastal waterway into a river can travel across the Ocean and end up on the other side of the world.
A similar story unfolded, when almost five million pieces of Lego spilled into the Ocean from a cargo ship, off the coast of Cornwall, UK. Today, over 25 years later, the tiny, plastic toys are still washing up on the beaches of Cornwall.
These stories don’t just show how connected our Ocean is. They show how human actions can have long-lasting, global impacts on marine environments.
What is your relationship with the Ocean?
We are all connected to the Ocean through weather, climate, and the very air we breathe. But each of us also has our own personal experience with the Ocean.
Maybe you swim, sail, or relax by the sea. Maybe you enjoy sushi, or listen to Ocean sounds on Spotify to help you sleep. You likely use products every day that are imported, by boat, from other parts of the world.
Biologist Wallace J Nichols, the author of Blue Mind, says, “We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken.”
But the ways the Ocean keeps us all alive – like how the sea supplies over 50% of the oxygen we breathe, regulates the climate, nourishes the crops we eat and feeds billions of people – are often less understood.
This is where we come in.
At Ocean Generation, we’re rebuilding the connection between people and the Ocean. We’re an Ocean education charity that uses science, storytelling and pop-culture to make marine science interesting and relevant to your daily life.
When we understand why the Ocean is important, we feel connected to it. When we feel connected, protecting it is simply the next obvious step. A healthy Ocean is essential for a healthy planet.
Every drop of water is connected.
We don’t usually think of the water that comes from our taps as Ocean water. But to quote a little fish…
All drains lead back to the Ocean.
Finding Nemo
Every waterway (rivers, drains, the water in your coffee) eventually flows into the Ocean. Even the 60% of water that makes up your body has passed through the Ocean at one point.
The Ocean breathes air into our lungs, it nourishes our food, it controls our weather. We depend on our Ocean in more ways than we realise.
That means all our choices all ripple back, and impact, our blue planet. Everyday actions, even when they feel small, make a difference.
Want to feel more connected to our blue planet?
Join the Ocean Generation
- We share bite-sized environmental education through science, storytelling and popular culture.
- Translate complex Ocean science into engaging content on social media.
- Run Youth Engagement programmes for people 3 – 25 years old (online and in-person).
- Host talks for companies and corporates in the UK.
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