Our oceans are vital; they are our lifeline. They are also a lawless place, where protection and regulation tends to fall by the wayside. After decades of negotiations, last month, the new global agreement to protect them was agreed upon, and UN members agreed to the first-ever treaty to protect the world’s oceans that lie outside of national boundaries. This UN High Seas Treaty is a crucial step towards protecting our oceans. 

What is it? 

Two-thirds of our oceans are considered international, but until now, only 1% of these ‘high-seas’ have been protected. The treaty will establish a roadmap for designated marine protected areas, it guarantees that members will share profits from any commercialised products from the high seas and establishes programs to strengthen marine research in developing countries. This treaty will also help the global goal of protecting 30% of our oceans by 2030 – a fast-approaching target. 

Why do we need to protect our oceans? 

Our oceans regulate our climate, provide us with food as well as the livelihoods and economic progress. For too long, we have assumed that the oceans are limitless and immune to our human impacts, but we have been wrong. We have been exploiting our lifeline through climate change, overfishing, deep sea mining, and the effects of shipping traffic to name a few. 

Our passion for the ocean runs through us and our business, and we strive to protect it as best we can so that others can enjoy the pleasure of sailing in years to come. Because, without the ocean, where would we be? There are millions of species living on and around our oceans that must be protected. 

What are we doing to help?

At Most Sailing, we have initiatives in place to ensure our sailing and company impacts are a little less on our oceans. Below are some things we have already implemented, and we strive to keep adding to this crucial list. 

• We know that when cleaning our boats, everything you use is literally poured into our oceans, so when we wash our boats at Most Sailing, we use eco-friendly marine products to minimise the damage other, toxic products are having. 
• This is the same for toiletries and onboard cleaning products. These, again, end up in the oceans, so we provide eco-friendly marine products to customers when they charter. 
• As well as the use of paper being outdated, its production also uses a lot of trees, energy and water. To replace reams of paper for admin and logistics, we use the Floatist app for the check-in and check-out process. Not only does this app streamline our business, but it also removes the need for using paper.  
• Water consumption is crucial, so that is why we installed an aerator on each faucet head on all the boats to minimise the boats water usage. 
• Carbon emissions are another huge factor in the health of our oceans. Not only do we specialise in nature’s own power generation – through sailing – but we have also installed solar panels onboard our boats so customers can use less energy, and less motoring with the engine is needed. We also offer the option of an electric outboard engine rather than the traditional petrol engine for our dinghies. 

We know our oceans are under huge threats so it is crucial that we continue to take these small but significant steps in protecting our seas, to ensure they can be enjoyed for future generations. This is a collaborative effort needed by everyone. 

What are you doing to help? We would love to hear from you.