AP Photo
As a result of a United Nations General Assembly resolution passed in December 2008, World Oceans Day is now officially observed every year on June 8.
World Oceans Day is an opportunity to honour the world's ocean, celebrate the products the ocean provides and also a time to appreciate its own intrinsic value. Global pollution and over-consumption of fish have resulted in drastically dwindling population of the majority of species.
The concept for World Oceans Day was first proposed in 1992, by the Canadian government at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, and it had been unofficially celebrated every year since then.
Since 2002, The Ocean Project and the World Ocean Network have helped to promote and coordinate World Oceans Day events worldwide. They help coordinate events and activities with aquariums, zoos, museums, conservation organisations, universities, schools and businesses.
Each year an increasing number of countries and organisations have been marking June 8 as an opportunity to celebrate our world ocean and our personal connection to the sea.
This year, World Oceans Day is themed Oceans of Life. 2010's theme focuses on our oceans's great diversity of life and how we can all help in its conservation.
Click on the thumbnails below to see which marine animals under threat of extinction...
