This week Patagonia launches its annual environmental campaign, which is dedicated in 2006 to preserving ocean wilderness. Often it takes strapping on a snorkel for humans to fully appreciate the ocean – which covers 71% of the planet's surface – as a fragile ecosystem.

On its comprehensive website, Patagonia points out that big fish like thousand-pound tuna have been depleted by 90%, “pelicans in the Sea of Cortés starve for want of fish to eat. Coral reefs are crumbling, and the ocean floor is plowed up by trawlers. Plastic kills seabirds and is found on the beaches of the world’s most remote islands. Surfers, swimmers and lifeguards are vaccinated annually against hepatitis as a matter of course. Tuna and swordfish have so much methylmercury in their bodies, they are hazardous food for pregnant women and children.” Patagonia attributes this sad state of affairs mainly to “an ugly trinity: unsustainable fishing practices, habitat destruction and contamination.”

So, how can we, as people who swim, dive, and play in the seas and at its curb––the beach––be more responsible to the watery blue that gives us so much joy? Patagonia has put together a list. I’ve edited it down to blog-sized essence (for the full, maximally helpful list visit here).

1) Purchase sustainably caught seafood. Many oceans organizations offer portable cards listing what seafood is sustainably caught and what seafood should be avoided. We like the card from Blue Ocean Institute.

2) Fertilizers and pesticides feed directly into the ocean as run–off. Please buy organic. And don’t use fertilizers or pesticides in your own garden.

3) Keep your car properly maintained so it doesn’t leak oil or other toxic fluids.

4) Never dispose of anything down a storm drain. Storm drains lead directly to waterways or the ocean.

5) Pick up trash and recycle your plastics. Heavy rains send garbage down waterways and to the oceans.

6) Volunteer or support a local grassroots organization that is working to protect or restore a river, lake, estuary, beach or bay. Support legislation for an increase in Marine Protected Areas. These areas provide food, shelter and habitat areas for marine life, thus protecting our fisheries for the future.

You can directly donate to any of these ocean-saving groups. And for those of you escaping winter for beach-based locales, consider these eco-friendly snorkeling and diving tips. If you’re planning to simply stick to Bocce Ball and surf-watching, these eco beach visiting tips are also helpful. And to learn more about all of it, pick up a copy of Richard Ellis’s The Empty Ocean, a searing creature-by-creature account of the devastation of our seas.

Photo: Ralph Lee Hopkins, Patagonia.com