The ocean gives us food, it gives us 50% of the air we breath, it provides us with energy in the form of wave and tidal, it dictates our weather, it gives us enjoyment in the many forms of watersports, it keeps us ice free with it’s warm currents from the Gulf Stream, it gives ships buoyancy to be able to move millions of tonnes of cargo across the 5 oceans.
Historically, the oceans were seen as natural dividers, separating continents, but the reality is that the oceans are connectors. The oceans bind us together, enabling commerce and ocean literacy. The “Galway Statement” sums that all up when the EU, Canada and the USA agreed to work together on the sharing of knowledge and data collected, acknowledging that the Atlantic is a shared resource.
In Galway, we are subconsciously connected to the sea, often forgetting its importance, yet symbolically we see a ship on almost every logo.
On the shores of the Atlantic we are lucky to have this vast ocean lapping along the coastline of Galway Bay.
This weekend especially, we celebrate all that the ocean does for us and at the Port of Galway we have turned the lights ATLANTIC BLUE to say that, as a trading Port on an island nation, we salute the ocean for all that it does for us.
