The Ocean

The Ocean 

The ocean ecosystem sustains all life on the coast. It is hard to imagine that the surface that most of us see from our windows is actually a complex living thing, supporting thousands of incredible species.

Every second breath you take is generated by the oceans. While most people recognize the Amazon as the lungs of the planet, it is actually our oceans, or plankton in the oceans (microscopic marine plants), that are responsible for approximately half of the oxygen in the air we breathe.

It is easy to see how the ocean supports us – a lot of us make our living from the ocean directly or indirectly from employment that relies on human activities on or in the water. The marine recreation sector alone had revenues of $3.8 billion in 2005 and employed 32,200 people on a per year basis. There are entire communities on this Coast that have traditionally relied on the ocean for food and employment.

Here are just a few of the amazing creatures that thrive beneath the surface: