How ocean literate are you?

Abstract

You may be excused for not knowing what the term ‘ocean literacy’ actually means, as the term only started being regularly used in Europe over the past decade. A global movement promoting ocean literacy has three over-arching goals: (i) to ensure that every student learns about the ocean; (ii) to foster a generation of ocean-literate citizens who understand the mutual influence and impacts between people and oceans, and (iii) to kick start ocean literacy campaigns in each country. It is widely acknowledged that the implementation of ocean literacy should be guided by seven core principles, namely: (i) the Earth has one big ocean with many features; (ii) the oceans, and life in the oceans, shape the nature of life on Earth; (iii) the ocean is a major influence on weather and climate; (iv) the ocean made Earth habitable; (v) the ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems; (vi) oceans and humans are inextricably connected; and (vii) the ocean is largely unexplored.