Last Updated on Thursday, 19 January, 2023 at 12:37 pm by Andre Camilleri
Our lives and our well-being depend on the health of our seas so it is our common duty to protect the seas that surround us, Malta Maritime Forum chairman Judge Joseph Zammit McKeon says.
In an article published in The Malta Business Weekly, Judge McKeon writes that “we must therefore foster Ocean Literacy at home and promote it regionally and at the global level to safeguard a healthy and sustainable future”.
Due to its special “enclosed” characteristics, the Mediterranean Sea is robust and plentiful, but equally fragile and at risk, therefore deserving of our extra awareness and care.
The economies along the littoral states and islands dotting the Mediterranean are hugely dependent on the sea. To varying degrees their prosperity is much dependent on activities falling under the Blue Economy not least coastal tourism, fishing desalination and sea transport including cargo handling and transshipment.
If given its deserved importance, Ocean Literacy could itself serve as a medium towards better understanding between its littoral states and their citizens. Through Ocean Literacy, the sea could act yet again as “the great unifier” where all parties could come to a better understanding of their common challenges, their common responsibilities and the common destiny they share, Judge Zammit McKeon writes.
