ocean wave, clean ocean tipsPhoto: Willyam Bradberry/Shutterstock

Love the ocean? I totally do, and it's not just because I'm biased by living right next to the beautiful Pacific. Even if you're far from U.S. shores, you can do your bit to help with global ocean conservation, a growing concern thanks to rising temperatures, huge gyres of floating garbage, overfishing and so many other challenges.


1. Buy sustainable seafood. 

Whether you're grilling fish this summer, adding it to rich soups this fall and winter, or steaming it in light spring dishes, make sure the seafood you're consuming is sustainable. The Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch program is a fantastic resource for finding out which species are the best for you to eat, and it even has little printable cards you can take to the grocery store or out to restaurants! 

2. Minimize your trash. 


3. Cut your carbon footprint


dog on beach4. Take care of the beach

If you happen to be lucky enough to live next to the ocean, why not give back a few days a year? Participate in a beach cleanup or another beach conservation program — and if you're a pet owner, make sure to collect your animal's poop and dispose of it in a safe location (biodegradeable poop collection bags, please!). 

5. Buy ocean-friendly cosmetics, jewelry and crafts


6. Watch it with that fertilizer

In the garden, take it easy on the fertilizer. If you apply too much, it won't reach your plants. Instead, it ends up in runoff, which eventually enters the ocean, causing a problem known as nutrient pollution — it turns out that there is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Nutrient pollution leads to so-called "dead zones" in the ocean filled with blooms of algae that choke out all other ocean life. 


If you're using pesticides, herbicides and other chemicals in the garden, consider a switch. Those chemicals are bad for the garden, bad for the environment, bad for your pets and bad for you. And, like fertilizers, when they run off, they end up polluting waterways and reaching the ocean ... where they do a lot of damage to organisms that call the sea home. Commit to make the switch, and get the neighborhood on board with natural pest control methods too. 

8. Go nontoxic in the house


9. Going on vacation? Give the ocean a little love

If you're visiting the ocean on holiday, take a chance to visit some gorgeous sights respectfully. Follow the advice and directions of local conservation organizations when you plan your trip and take snorkeling, boating, swimming and surfing adventures. If you have time, consider dedicating a day to helping out the ocean by joining a beach cleanup, monitoring hatching baby turtles (major cute factor), or supporting the work of an organization that works on ocean conservation. 

10. Dispose of hazardous waste responsibly

You probably have some old paint lying around from that project last year, along with used batteries, medication and other waste that shouldn't go in the trash. Make sure to collect it responsibly and take advantage of hazardous waste days at the local dump or make arrangements for pickup in your neighborhood. Keeping that waste out of the environment helps everyone!

Consider keeping some things out of the waste stream altogether: Get a new computer or cellphone? Sell or give the old one to someone who could use it.

s.e. smith originally wrote this story for Networx.com. It is reprinted with permission here.

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Dog beach photo: Margaret Killjoy/Flickr