Inspiring ocean conservationists

In 1990, I set sail for a 7,000-mile journey alone around the world. Twenty-two months later, I sailed into Boston Harbor with 30,000 school children looking over my shoulder. I was the first black man from any nation to solo-circumnavigate the world via the Southern route. For me, the journey was an extraordinary demonstration of the power of our oceans to educate and inspire. Now, more than 20 years later, President Obama has protected the largest marine reserve in the world — providing inspiration for today’s generation of young explorers.

Using his powers under the Antiquities Act, the president expanded The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument to nearly 490,000 square miles, about three times the size of California and six times larger than its previous size. Commercial fishing, dumping, and mining will be prohibited in the reserve, though recreational fishing will be allowed with permits and boaters like me may visit the area.

{mosads}I didn’t take off to sail the world until I was 55 years old. What did it for me? Same thing as for Obama, likely: children and grandchildren. I wanted to be an example for my grandkids, April and Brian, and show them that any of us can think and do the impossible. Facing threats from climate change and incessant development, our environment demands no less of us.

Those 7,000 miles and many journeys since showed me the beauty and fragility of our oceans. In my travels I met so many wonderful people, some of whom made their living on and about the sea. Like me, they decried how it was changing so fast — for the worst. While some might view the ocean as a vast, unspoiled wilderness, I can affirm it is vast, but perhaps also spoiled: flotillas of garbage; coral reefs damaged by climate change. Children following my trip by satellite transponder would often ask about the dolphins, turtles and other sea life that I had encountered, but really, it was the garbage that was most astonishing.

That’s why I was pleased to hear Obama had recently protected the largest marine reserve in the world. According to the announcement, protecting the ocean paradise of the Pacific Remote Islands will help ensure the survival and recovery of:

•     Five species of sea turtles, including the largest turtle in the world – the endangered leatherback sea turtle
•     Twenty-two species of whales and other protected marine mammals, including the endangered blue whale and humpback whale.
•     White Tip sharks, yellowfin tuna and other large predatory fish whose populations have declined 90% across the world’s oceans.
•     Three million sea birds of 19 different species, which depend on the area’s fish and uninhabited islands for survival.

This new national monument, located more than 1,000 miles from Hawaii, may not be a “classroom” in the traditional sense, but it surely will educate inspire young explorers, just as my own trip did. Obama’s efforts protect our irreplaceable national public lands closer to home offer additional incentive for future archaeologists, historians, biologists, horticulturalists, conservationists, and yes, sailors, to appreciate the history and natural heritage of our nation. Some might think it would be impossible to cultivate a conservation legacy in the face of a bitterly divided Congress, but this president too, clearly believes in the importance of doing the impossible. I hope the next generation of solo circumnavigators will be inspired to explore and experience clean and vibrant oceans as a result of his leadership.

The first African-American to solo-circumnavigate the world via Cape Horn, Pinkney and his crew also retraced the Middle Passage slave trade routes. Pinkney has been honored by state governments, the U.S. Congress, universities, former President George Bush, and foreign dignitaries for his dedication to ocean exploration, education and numerous other accomplishments.  He is a former board member of the Ocean Conservancy and the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute, and a member of the new Diverse Environmental Leaders (DEL) National Speakers Bureau.