PRAIA, June 8 (Xinhua) -- At the port of Praia, the capital of Cabo Verde, fishing boats unload the day's catch as vendors sort fish on the dock and women carry plastic basins of fresh fish toward the market.
A few kilometers away on Gamboa beach, visitors walk along the shoreline while young people play football on the sand. Across this Atlantic archipelago, the ocean shapes daily life, from food and transport to tourism and drinking water.
As World Oceans Day is marked on June 8 under the theme "Reimagine: Beyond the World We Know, a New Relationship with Our Ocean," Cabo Verde offers a close look at how a small island state is trying to balance the use and protection of the sea.
According to Cabo Verde's Climate Portal, an online platform that provides information on the country's efforts to address the challenges posed by climate change, more than 99 percent of the country's territory is ocean, while about 70 percent of the water consumed nationwide comes from the sea.
For Tommy Melo, a marine biologist and president of Biosfera Cabo Verde, an environmental non-governmental organization (NGO), the ocean should no longer be seen merely as a border, a route, a storage space, or an endless source of fish.
"The ocean regulates the climate, feeds communities, absorbs carbon, connects economies, and holds biodiversity that is still largely unknown," Melo recently told Xinhua.
For island countries, he said, the ocean is "territory, economy, culture, food security, water, energy, and identity."
Ana Veiga, a biologist and executive director of the environmental NGO Lantuna, said climate change is one of the most urgent threats facing marine and coastal ecosystems, as rising temperatures, ocean acidification, sea-level rise, and more frequent extreme weather events are affecting habitats and species.
She said marine pollution, especially plastic waste, is another serious problem, while overfishing and poorly planned coastal development are also putting pressure on marine resources.
"We are exploiting the oceans beyond their own capacity," Veiga said, adding that the situation calls for stronger policies and closer international cooperation.
For Cabo Verde, the issue is not abstract. Data from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations show that fisheries account for about 2 percent of Cabo Verde's gross domestic product, provide around 10 percent of animal protein intake, and support more than 5,800 jobs in coastal fishing.
Tourism is another major link between the country and the sea. According to Cabo Verde's National Institute of Statistics, the country's hotel sector received more than 1.24 million guests in 2025, up 6 percent year on year. Beaches, diving, surfing, and kitesurfing have helped make the islands a popular destination for international visitors.
But the ocean is not only a source of fish and tourism. For a country with limited freshwater resources and recurrent droughts, seawater desalination has become an important part of the water supply system.
A seawater desalination and water supply project on Santiago Island is currently under design. Chen Junjun, deputy project manager of the Cabo Verde branch of China Machinery Engineering Corporation, said the project is expected to start construction in November.
The project will include two new desalination plants with a combined designed daily output of 15,000 cubic meters, mainly serving Praia and Calheta, along with five reservoirs with a total capacity of 17,000 cubic meters, about 19.4 km of pipelines from the desalination plants to the reservoirs, and a further 5.6 km linking new reservoirs to existing ones, Chen said.
Veiga said cooperation with China in water resources and seawater desalination is valuable for Cabo Verde, saying China's technological, human, and financial resources can help train Cabo Verdean technicians and adapt suitable technologies to local conditions.
Cabo Verdean President Jose Maria Neves said in an earlier interview with Xinhua that the blue economy is the future of Cabo Verde, noting that the two countries could strengthen cooperation in transport, fisheries, desalination, pharmaceuticals, and food industries.
Desalination, especially when combined with renewable energy, could help provide enough water for the country's development, he said.
For Cabo Verde, the relationship with the ocean is being tested in practical ways: how fish stocks are managed, how water reaches households, how tourism grows without damaging the coast, and how small island states can have a stronger voice in ocean governance. ■