The Florida Senate, House of Representatives and Cabinet proclaim one week a year as Florida Oceans Week and within that week one day is highlighted as Oceans Day. As Florida is nearly surrounded by salt water, highlighting importance of our coastal and marine resources is quite appropriate.

Past Oceans Days have been 4 April 2001, 13 February 2002, and 3 April 2003. Prior to the consortium of the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO, St. Petersburg), the Florida Ocean Alliance and Mote Marine Laboratory and the official annual Oceans Week and Day, there was Oceanography Week held in 1999 – 2000. The present State Legislature sanctioned events grew and have flourished from those beginnings.

In essence, the Institutes and organizations involved in marine scientific and socioeconomic endeavors from around the State meet in Tallahassee to showcase their achievements and to lobby the legislature for help with specific initiatives. Displays are positioned on the third floor of the capital building, as shown here for the FAU College of Science display. In this position, Senators, Representatives and their aides file by as they go to and from chambers and, hopefully, learn about our achievements and goals.

Figure 1: View of the central core of the Capital Rotunda, looking towards the House of Representatives’ chambers.

Fig. 2: Dr. Louda discussing the ‘drugs from the sea’ initiative of Dr. Russell Kerr with a congressional aide.

IT IS, AFTERALL, MORE THAN 70% MARINE!
(There’s a lot of water out there-and-that’s only the top of it!)
Also, of all the water on Earth, more than 97% is salt water!

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