'Oceana': Amazing Images Of Our Endangered Seas (PHOTOS)

I've been involved in ocean conservation for decades, and in that time, a lot has changed, but a lot has stayed the same. Last year I decided it was time to write it all down before I get too old to tell the difference. With help from some of the world's most respected authorities in the fields of marine science and commercial fishing, as well as other influential activists, and a very talented co-author, Mike D'Orso, I wrote "Oceana: Our Endangered Oceans and What We Can Do to Save Them "-- a book that describes the most critical threats to the oceans and how we can turn them around. What follows is an eye-opening look at some of the biggest issues we face -- images that I hope will inspire you to take action and help us turn back the clock on this looming crisis.

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Ted, Laguna Beach 1953

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My father was an anthropologist and my mother was a very spiritual person. They taught me that we are part of the world we live in and that we have to understand it and be good stewards. I also had the benefit of having Hopi friends as a kid in Arizona and their appreciation for the natural world had a great influence on me. And while I grew up in Arizona, I always enjoyed the ocean on visits to see family in California. I had a very vivid dream when I was seven years old. I had a high fever and I woke up screaming and I ran into my parent's room. They asked me what was wrong and I described my nightmare. I was sitting on the beach and God's voice said, "Ted, you have one hour to enter the oceans into this bucket," and then he gave me a spoon with holes in it. Typical young actor's megalomania in development, maybe, but you'd have to say I've been thinking about the oceans for many years!

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My father was an anthropologist and my mother was a very spiritual person. They taught me that we are part of the world we live in and that we have to understand it and be good stewards. I also had the benefit of having Hopi friends as a kid in Arizona and their appreciation for the natural world had a great influence on me. And while I grew up in Arizona, I always enjoyed the ocean on visits to see family in California. I had a very vivid dream when I was seven years old. I had a high fever and I woke up screaming and I ran into my parent's room. They asked me what was wrong and I described my nightmare. I was sitting on the beach and God's voice said, "Ted, you have one hour to enter the oceans into this bucket," and then he gave me a spoon with holes in it. Typical young actor's megalomania in development, maybe, but you'd have to say I've been thinking about the oceans for many years!

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I'm not inspired to help This made me want to help save the oceans!

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Comments

[MyDoxies]

12:20 AM on 03/31/2011

I am overwhelmed and discouraged. Which way do I turn? Radiation leaks into the ocean from damaged nuclear reactors, pesticides and herbicides drift into our waterways. Air pollution turns our oceans acidic. I struggle as my house hangs closer and closer to foreclosure as my husband has been out of work for 8 months.... I feel so helpless, and so utterly overwhelmed by the problems we now face. And this, as I await the birth of my dear little grandchild. It's more than I can bear..

[LibertyRoy]

01:45 PM on 03/21/2011

Picture #10 is heart-breaking.

[Amber Villiams]

06:22 PM on 03/20/2011

Looks like an informative, necessary read. I am in.

[Elmer Crosby]

07:48 PM on 03/20/2011

Amber, I agree!, and at some point I'll read it too, but Apprentice is coming on now.

[mpilkanis]

04:56 PM on 03/20/2011

Mr. Danson, thank you for the thoughtful post. I can only imagine that your heart must've been broken by the terrible fouling of the Gulf of Mexico by the bad actors of BP.

[SoufiLouis]

03:48 PM on 03/20/2011

jeez this is depressing.

[john649]

03:09 PM on 03/20/2011

I stopped eating fish and meat 25 years ago. I used to scuba dive and the thought of these beautiful beings being eaten or destroyed is nauseating to me now.

[Elmer Crosby]

07:36 PM on 03/20/2011

Cheese is good. And eggs.

[Elmer Crosby]

07:47 PM on 03/20/2011

Actually cheese and eggs are good too. But cheese and fish seems awkward.

[3dtrix]

02:52 PM on 03/20/2011

Thanks so much! If the oceans die - the planet dies.

If that doesn't say it all - I don't know what would...

[Elmer Crosby]

07:38 PM on 03/20/2011

Maybe, just maybe we can WORK TOGETHER and help this planet. By working together, problems can be solved, folks, planet earth needs us, we are human beings after all, and don't you forget it!!!!, get busy. Personally, I love the oceans and the fish too.

[Erewhon7]

12:18 PM on 03/20/2011

There's a considerable body of scientific evidence to suggest we're have entered a no-return mass extinction phase.
Not much different from other extinction cycles in the life of the planet (e.g. the Permian–Triassic extinction).

This extinction will be the first one initiated by an Earth specie.

[Elmer Crosby]

07:41 PM on 03/20/2011

Excellent insight. You must have studied science or something like it in school, or maybe you read a lot. But I think the words is species, not specie, excusable cause your probally full of emotion.

[orcinous]

02:38 AM on 03/20/2011

We need to put a moratorium on all fishing for several years. Let the oceans heal and then take small amounts of fish caught on hook and line rather than drift nets and trawlers. Pay off the fishermen for their nets and boats and let them take other jobs. Would not take much effort, just political will.

[fisher65]

07:18 AM on 03/20/2011

cant, there is a new oil spill! the gulf again, that no one is talking about on the news, just here that i know of, more sad news, never ends. we have to buy dawn soap, i allways will.

[abbienormal]

08:00 AM on 03/20/2011

I have been looking everywhere for an update on this news and cannot find anything. Very frustrating that it isn't considered to be headline material.

[tunewright]

01:30 AM on 03/20/2011

Mr. Danson is what is right with being a celeb. He uses his fame to draw our attention to the very worthwhile practice of efficient management of our seaways and their abundance. Personally, I'd hate to see a world where responsibly harvested seafood is a thing of our past.

[Arielman]

10:57 PM on 03/19/2011

I started after high school studying marine technology at Suffolk Community on Long Island, NY. Discouraged though back then, many of the local industries, clamming, oysters, fishing and other pursuits were being lost but studied. So was the subject, from balance beam scales for analytic chemistry to more modern electronic research tools. Since I've worked on the Hudson River in archaeology in a number of places and glad to see people more concerned about the marine environment. Also working on a number of EPA Superfund sites I'm glad today that these issues are being considered.

[abbienormal]

08:01 AM on 03/20/2011

It is great work that you are doing. Fanned.

[plages]

06:21 PM on 03/19/2011

If only our congress weren't so deep within the corporate pockets, something might be done.

[Obi-jonKenobi]

02:34 PM on 03/19/2011

Great work, Ted. You da man!!

[ontheman]

02:01 PM on 03/19/2011

I am totally and joyously amazed in reading all the comments that have been posted so far that not one person is making fun of this! I am so happy that there's not one negative comment on this board so far.

[tunewright]

01:33 AM on 03/20/2011

I agree. This a subject that requires the survival of the shark, not the snark. (Terrible pun, off to bed, good job Mr. Danson)

[1deepstar]

01:56 PM on 03/19/2011

Thank you, Mr. Danson, for your contribution to the necessarily continuous dialog on protecting our seas. I became enamored with the ocean many years ago and now teach people how to personally get in tune with their aquatic nature and to integrate with the ocean environment through the practice of breath hold diving or freediving as it is called. I also maintain an expanding community post to address our local passion of swimming with dolphins and other marine life... www.everbluefreediving.com To me it is clear that we were made to engage an aquatic environment and all the physical adaptations that allow us to swim to 100ft and explore in safety and confidence without SCUBA gear remain largely unused by people who simply had no idea that it is possible. If humans truly understood and focused on developing their own aquatic natures more fully to be balanced on land and sea, it would be a much easier task to impress upon them the importance of protecting the marine environment. New research, new materials and new perspectives now make humans better swimmers than they ever were. Most people are shocked when they learn that they can swim with freedom like a seal and encounter all manner of sea beings on an entirely different level and if they could be taught to do it as children it could change our world.