EH director Jeff McCarthy Finds Awe in Marine Adventure

EH director Jeff McCarthy writes to a popular audience about Marine Protected Areas and ocean adventure, published in Cruising World. Jeff’s story, Witnessing Wonder in Marine Sanctuaries, finds hope in the awe of the open ocean in a time when the seas are recognized major battlegrounds for climate change. Jeff sailed from Maine to Bermuda – a trip he admits was physically and mentally draining but made worth it by the wild creatures he and his crew encountered.

Along the taxing trip, Jeff sailed through several Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). He explains that MPAs are not fenced-off areas that exclude humans and that instead “most MPAs allow some extraction, and nearly all invite visitors, balancing the interests of conservationists, fishermen and other economic stakeholders. Cruisers can see firsthand the ways MPAs refigure stressed marine environments into healthy parcels where depleted species can repopulate and ecosystems can rebound.” For Jeff, the MPAs showed a success story of systems resilience and offered a counter to the ocean apocalypse narrative.

Taking to the sea helps Jeff feel reconnected to the systems that sustain and propel him. For him it is an opportunity to take a closer look at the marine life that we are too often separated from as Utah residents. After sailing through them, he believes that MPAs are a good step toward changing overall impacts imposed on our oceans as the protection of a few “fertile zones” can help the entire ocean system rebound. “Looking to windward, it’s clear that sailors are on the front lines of these changes,” he writes. By paying attention to the ecosystems they float through, sailors “can take an active role in witnessing ocean change and advocating ocean health.”

To read Jeff’s story follow the link below:

https://www.cruisingworld.com/witnessing-wonder-in-marine-sanctuaries