Santa Maria Manuela carries scientists intent on promoting health of world’s seas
A parade of 29 ships led by Portuguese codfish boat Santa Maria Manuela marked the symbolic start of the United Nations Ocean Conference in Nice, France, on Sunday.
The historic boat, built in 1937 and renovated in 2022, left Monaco late morning, arriving in Nice at around 5 pm.
The fleet also included vessels from Spain, Italy, France, Angola, Norway, and other countries. The line of ships included modern and traditional vessels with sails hoisted.
Santa Maria Manuela was carrying around 40 people, including scientists, representatives of non-governmental organizations and local associations linked to fishing, and members of the Oceano Azul Foundation. These organizations will all be taking part in the conference, which starts in earnest today, and is seen as one of the ‘hopes’ for the health of the world’s seas.
The parade/ conference was also a way of marking World Ocean Day, celebrated today.
This third conference of its kind aims to take another step towards implementing Sustainable Development Goal 14 – which relates to the conservation and sustainable use of the ocean.
Whether it will go the way of the endless COPs (climate change conferences) that have ‘promised so much, and delivered so little’, remains to be seen. In the words of David Attenborough who ‘kick started’ the initiative, with an interview with Prince William, the Prince of Wales, what the world has been doing this far is “unspeakably awful”. The veteran naturalist told the heir to the British throne that he sincerely hopes leaders at this conference “realise how much the oceans matter to all of us, the citizens of the world”, and start implementing policies that truly protect them. ND
