Greenpeace to hold Portsmouth exhibition ahead of global ocean talks

Ahead of the final round of United Nations (UN) negotiations on a Global Ocean Treaty next month, an environmental pressure group in the city is putting pressure on the government to create ocean sanctuaries, making parts of the water off-limits to industries.

This will be done at a photo exhibition on Saturday, February 8 at Milton Village Community Hall, showcasing both the beauty of the world’s oceans and the damage being done.

Local media coordinator for Portsmouth, Ros Brooks, said: ‘We want to raise awareness about the damage to our oceans, caused by plastics, deep-sea mining and overfishing.

‘Greenpeace is offering practical solutions but we the world leaders don’t seem to know the best course of action – it’s vital that they do more to protect the sea and hopefully that is done through the treaty.

‘Without this, our ecosystem won’t get the chance to recover and regenerate.’

The artwork at the exhibition will be from Greenpeace activities done across the globe, with the event running from 8pm to 10pm.

A petition will also be available to sign, which will be presented to the government.

‘We need a high-ranking official to be sent to these negotiations,’ Ros said.

‘This round of talks is crucial to the future of the world’s oceans.

‘We’ve invited Portsmouth’s two MPs, Stephen Morgan and Penny Mordaunt, to sign the petition and would love to have their support.’