A Sick Ocean Can Make Us Sick: How Ocean Health and Human Health Connect

When people think about threats to public health, the ocean is rarely on the list. It should be. The health of the ocean is increasingly tied to our own, and just as we can harm the ocean, the ocean can harm us.

A warning sign about contaminated water on a beach. Credit: NOAA.

Why the ocean matters to everyone

The ocean and coasts affect everyone, including people who live far from the shore. Fishing and boating, tourism and recreation, and ocean shipping support millions of jobs. Beaches draw millions of visitors a year. The Great Lakes supply drinking water to more than 40 million people. The ocean, coasts and Great Lakes also do work that is harder to measure — regulating climate, recycling nutrients, holding our maritime heritage — and they supply things we use every day, from food and medicines to compounds that make peanut butter easier to spread.

Signs of an ocean in distress

One sign of trouble is the rising number of beach and shellfish-harvesting closures across the country — thousands of closures or advisories each year because of harmful marine organisms, chemical pollutants or algal toxins. Heavy use of the ocean and runoff from polluted land are two of many pressures on fragile ecosystems. Waterborne infectious diseases, toxins from harmful algal blooms, contaminated seafood and chemical pollutants are further warnings. Public health is not the only thing at risk; coastal economies are too.

Closing the safety gap

NOAA scientists and partners are building tools and information for public health and natural resource managers, decision-makers and the public: predictions of harmful algal blooms and harmful microbes to reduce exposure to contaminated seafood, and early warning systems for contaminated beaches and drinking water sources.

Marine mammals as early warnings

Whales, dolphins and other marine mammals eat much of the same seafood we do, and swim in the same coastal waters — but unlike us, they are exposed to toxic algae and poor water quality 24 hours a day, seven days a week. That makes them, and other sentinel species, a guide to how the ocean's condition may affect human health. NOAA's Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program supports national and international projects investigating these concerns, work that can warn of public health risks, improve the management of protected species and even lead to medical discoveries.

Cures from the deep

A healthy ocean is also a source of new ways to save lives. The diversity of its species promises a wealth of pharmaceuticals and natural products. Marine-based drugs have already been found that treat some cancers, antibiotic-resistant staph infections, pain, asthma and inflammation.

Sources

Based on "What does the ocean have to do with human health?" from NOAA's National Ocean Service, a work of the United States government in the public domain.