World Oceans Day 2012: Submit Your Own Photos!

June 8 marks the 20th observance of World Oceans Day, a global event that has been recognized by the United Nations since 2008. Along with celebrating the oceans and the life they sustain in the water and on land, the day is also meant to encourage individuals to take steps to boost preservation efforts.

Oceana released a report this week, outlining how “saving the world’s oceans can help to feed the 9 billion people projected to be on earth by 2050,” according to the group.

Among other things, the report found that “by stopping overfishing, reducing discards at sea and protecting [the oceans’] most productive areas,” the world “can not only recover wild fisheries, we can also protect diverse ocean ecosystems.”

Last July, NOAA released its annual overfishing report for 2011. 16 percent of U.S. fish populations are overfished, and the number has been growing in recent years.

Fish in other countries may also be facing an uncertain future. A study by the International Union for Conservation of Nature last year found that “more than 40 fish species in the Mediterranean could vanish in the next few years.”

Governments could be contributing to the precarious place of the world’s sea life populations. An Oceana report found that multi-billion dollar subsidies from the European Union “promote a European fishing fleet that is up to three times bigger than sustainable limits.”

To learn more about the world’s oceans and join others in supporting conservation, check out the interactive, socially-connected app TheBlu. World-renowned oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle said about the app, “TheBlu is an extraordinary way to enjoy the Oceans and learn about all the individual species that interdependently form our life support system. I am delighted to be part of theBlu and offering my guidance.”

Click here to find out about World Oceans Day events and learn how to take action. To celebrate oceans around the world, we’re collecting our favorite photos! Submit your own ocean photos to the slideshow below, and scroll down for videos:

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  • A person watches as huge waves crash on Dee Why point April 9, 2006 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

  • The sun sets over the protruding rock formations (below) of Canal Rocks at Yallingup in the world-renowned surfing area of the south-west corner of Western Australia are shown in this photo taken on May 11, 2011. (GREG WOOD/AFP/Getty Images)

  • The sun rises over St Michael’s Mount viewed from Penzance sea front on March 29, 2012 in Cornwall, England. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

  • An Israeli couple walk on the beach in the coastal city of Netanay north of Tel Aviv as the sun starts to set over the Mediterranean Sea on December 22, 2011. (JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

  • Starfish!

    a href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/hp_blogger_Joanna Zelman”img style=”float:left;padding-right:6px !important;” src=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/contributors/joanna-zelman/headshot.jpg” //aa href=”http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/hp_blogger_Joanna Zelman”HuffPost Blogger Joanna Zelman/a:br /

  • The sun rises behind clouds over the Pacific Ocean near US President Barack Obama’s vacation home in Kailua, Hawaii, on January 2, 2011. (SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

  • January 27, 2011 the sun rises in Indonesia’s Wakatobi archipelago, a thriving marine paradise, packing a bewildering abundance of life that supports 100,000 people and contributes millions of dollars to Indonesia’s economy. Last year, coral bleaching caused by higher sea temperatures wreaked havoc across the Coral Triangle, a region of rich tropical reefs spanning much of Southeast Asia and almost all of Indonesia. (STEPHEN COATES/AFP/Getty Images)

  • The sun sinks over the Gulf of Mexico seen from Key West, Florida February 21, 2011. (KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

  • The sun sets behind the old railway bridge in the Bahia Honda State Park in Bahia Honda Key, Florida February 25, 2011.(KAREN BLEIER/AFP/Getty Images)

  • SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – JUNE 20: A bird flies over a cresting wave at Maroubra beach June 20, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Ian Waldie/Getty Images)

  • A wave crashes against the rocks of Leblon beach 24 April, 2006 during a undertow in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty Images)

WATCH a World Oceans Day video from NRDC:

WATCH One World One Ocean’s parody of “Somebody That I Used To Know”:

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