As we have done every month since January 2022, we support a cause around the world by donating one percent of our revenue to a non-profit organization. Each month, we take turns asking our employees and partners to choose which charity to support, and this month we have selected the NGO Sea Shepherd .

Presentation of the Sea Shepherd association

Sea Shepherd is a non-profit organization (governed by the French law of 1901) recognized as being of general interest for the protection of the oceans. It was founded in 1977 by Captain Paul Watson, and its unique approach is to intervene peacefully but actively on site to denounce and prevent illegal attacks on marine life and ecosystems.

Among the concrete campaigns recently carried out on the ground, we can mention Operation Dolphin ByCatch, which aims to reduce dolphin mortality due to intensive fishing activities, or a presence in Brittany during the summer season, as well as in the English Channel and the North Sea to document the fishing activities of factory ships.

Why protecting marine life is important

We spend most of our lives on land, to the point of forgetting that the oceans cover three-quarters of our blue planet, which implies that they play a crucial role for the entire biosphere, even in the most remote continental areas.

The oceans constitute a veritable carbon sink for the planet and contribute to the regulation of atmospheric CO2 . This role, the importance of which becomes all too clear after a heatwave this spring, obviously depends on ecosystem balances. There is therefore a clear link between marine life and climate. Moreover, and this becomes even more evident when we look at ecosystems, all the living components of our planet are interconnected by numerous and complex interrelationships, some of which we are not yet aware of.

Since we are discussing unexpected links, abundant marine biodiversity is essential for the proper functioning of the planet, and in particular for the social well-being of our human societies, according to a report published on the United Nations website by C. Pasca Palmer, Executive Secretary of the Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Waste is also a crucial issue for ocean health. Far too many everyday objects end their life cycle on the ground, then are washed into waterways by rain, then into rivers, and finally into the sea. We naturally think of COVID masks, or plastic bags mistaken for food by turtles, and many others. It is particularly ironic that ocean areas untouched by human activity are so familiar to us through the presence of our waste and microplastics.

What to do on an individual level

To put it simply, it seems reasonable to advocate respect for life in all its forms on the planet, as well as for the fairest possible means of spatial planning that allow all living species on our planet to live (together) as well as possible.

On a more practical level, it is possible to join the ranks of the NGO Sea Shepherd, make a donation or consult their online petitions .