When we stop to remember that much of the earth is covered with water, it may be easier to think about the importance of taking care of our oceans.
For one man from Palau, that has taken on a whole new meaning.
The marine environment of the islands of Palau has only recently been protected from over-harvesting, thanks in large part to the efforts of Noah Idechong.
"I think I got interested because when I was growing up I spent a lot of time in the water with my father and my grandfather and many elders of Palau, so I'm very interested in the culture, the cultural part and the sea and the fish and the extension of the living," said conservationist Noah Idechong.
Idechong admits it would be easy for the people of Palau to take advantage of the abundance the sea has to offer. But in 1994, he says, he realized there had to be limits on the harvest.
"And for me, I think, that was the sign that I thought we were losing culture, our tradition, our connection to the sea and that's why I work very hard to rally the chiefs of Palau and the fishermen to say there is a better way of using the ocean," Idechong says
Idechong takes his message to other island states.
"The biggest lesson, message here during this visit here was how I have lost a lot. The tradition has gone too far and there is really a coming back of the heart of the Hawaiians," he says.
There is a definition of insanity - you keep doing the same thing over and over expecting a different result. Idechong compares that to using up the fishery resource.
"The coral reef fisheries cannot be commercially fished and sustained. That's a clear sign that you cannot. There's not lesson in the world where the coral reef fishery is fished commercially and sustained over time - so we have to do something different," he says.
