Blue Habits

We’re moving beyond ‘raising awareness’ with a science-based focus on ocean-friendly behavior change

Blue Habits, Healthier Oceans

The world’s oceans face unprecedented threats. 93 percent of global fisheries are fully fished or overfished. Climate change is bleaching coral reefs worldwide, with already half of all coral reefs lost since 1980. And millions of tons of plastic waste are harming sea life and causing systemic problems.

All ocean problems share a common cause: human behavior. Our lifestyle choices—from the seafood we eat to the plastic packaging we use and the ways we consume energy—as well as the businesses and politicians we choose to support, impact ocean health.

At Oceanic Society, we’re taking a radical approach to ocean conservation by focusing on motivating and sustaining ocean-friendly behaviors — ”blue habits” — across all of our programs. Both the cause, and the solution to our growing ocean crisis, is human behavior.

We’re Going Beyond “Awareness”

More people are aware of ocean conservation issues today than ever before, and yet the oceans have never been sicker. Awareness alone does not equal action. While most conservation organizations have traditionally focused on raising awareness, at Oceanic Society, we are focused on bridging the gap between awareness and action.

Through our Blue Habits program, we have been working in partnership with leading behavioral scientists to develop, test, and scale a science-based approach to improve ocean health by strategically targeting human behavior. We seek to bridge the gap between awareness and measurable behavior change in three ways:

Connecting people to oceans through travel, and leveraging travel experiences to motivate personal actions that improve ocean health;
Defining and implementing strategies, tools, and methods that we and other organizations can use to activate, sustain, and measure human behavior change through online and offline communications;
Leveraging and amplifying our impacts to new consumer audiences both online and offline.

Together, these strategies aim to "move the needle" in ways that measurably improve ocean health and reduce the hazards that humans pose to oceans over time.

We are at a pivotal moment in the history of life on our planet.

Unprecedented actions are needed to ensure that threatened ocean species and habitats continue to thrive in the decades to come. Oceanic Society is working to drive engagement and activate behavior change in four key areas, with the goal of protecting threatened ocean species and habitats and ensuring overall ocean health.

Our Focus Areas

Pollution (plastic & toxins)—learn more about our efforts to reduce ocean plastic pollution.
Climate Change (carbon footprint)—learn more about our efforts to combat climate change.
Sustainable Fisheries & Aquaculture (seafood choices)—learn more about our efforts to promote sustainable seafood.
Sustainable Travel—learn more about our efforts to create, lead, and promote sustainable travel experiences.

Join Our Blue Habits Community

Everyone has a role to play in working to improve ocean health. Thankfully, millions of people worldwide are already taking daily actions to support healthier oceans, like fighting plastic pollution, making responsible seafood choices, reducing carbon footprint, and choosing sustainable seafood.

Join us, and the millions of people taking action every day by becoming a member of our Blue Habits community.