Josh Jackson Wants to Save the Oceans to Feed the World

Actor and ocean advocate Joshua Jackson stars in a public service announcement (PSA) campaign for Oceana, the largest international organization dedicated to ocean conservation. Jackson’s video PSA, shot on location on San Juan Island in Washington State’s Salish Sea, promotes Oceana’s Save the Oceans, Feed the World campaign:

“The health of the oceans affects all of us,” Joshua Jackson said. “It’s amazing how interconnected we all are. When fish populations decline, it really impacts people and marine animals everywhere. Orcas in the Pacific Northwest rely on salmon for food. Fishers around the world feed their families with what they catch or sell. Restoring our oceans helps feed hungry people while supporting vibrant ecosystems. I am excited to work with Oceana so we can save the oceans and help feed the world.”

Oceana works to protect marine biodiversity and restore ocean abundance in order to support a growing global population. 795 million people are already living in hunger. According to U.N. estimates, the world’s population will increase by 33 percent by 2050 — meaning 2.4 billion more mouths to feed. But the potential of healthy oceans to help meet this demand is immense: Estimates suggest that a healthy, fully restored ocean could provide a healthy seafood meal, every day, for more than 1 billion people.

Studies have also found that switching from red meat to seafood reduces the risk of heart disease, cancer, and obesity. And, in comparison to land-based agriculture, wild fisheries produce modest amounts of greenhouse gas and require virtually no fresh water or arable land. Wild fish is good for our health and the health of the planet.

Oceana is winning victories that institute science-based fisheries management policies that stop overfishing, reduce bycatch and protect habitat in key countries so wild fish can thrive. Since just 29 countries and the EU are responsible for 90 percent of the world’s wild seafood catch, success in these places will have dramatic worldwide impact — protecting biodiversity in our oceans and addressing the pressing hunger crisis.

Jackson accompanied Oceana on a research trip in the summer of 2016 to identify threats facing endangered Southern Resident orcas and possible solutions for increasing Chinook salmon, a critical nutrition source for the whales and a commercially valuable fish in the Pacific Northwest. View photos from the trip below.