The ocean is a part of Latino lives. It is a source of food, jobs, medicine, spirituality, family memories, and the very air we breathe. Its coral reefs protect us from storms, as do the adjacent wetlands that filter our waters. There isn’t a facet of our lives that isn’t touched by the ocean.

Coastal communities are ever more susceptible to the results of pollution and climate change: sea level rise, dead zones, flooding, and coastal disasters. These same communities are experiencing significant growth in Latino populations, many of which are among the most vulnerable to coastal threats increasing in severity and frequency.

Latinos and other communities, traditionally underserved, should have equitable access to a clean and safe ocean and coast for recreation, livelihoods, and culture. Wetland, coastal, reef, and underwater ecosystems should be protected and restored to improve coastal resilience to sea level rise, floods, and other effects of climate change. The ocean should be pollution- and plastic-free, as well as free of the threats of offshore drilling and mining that harm local communities and the global climate alike.

Why is this important to Latino communities?

Latino Health

• 49% of Latinos lived in coastal shoreline counties in 2010.
• The health impacts of sea level rise are disproportionately felt by Black and Hispanic communities and those who are un- or under-insured, unemployed, or residing in substandard housing. Sea level rise increases the risk for drowning, injury, indoor mold outbreak, respiratory illnesses, housing instability, disruptions to infrastructure, adverse pregnancy outcomes, mental health impacts, and disease transmission.
• Latinos are 47% more likely to live in high-impact coastal flooding areas, particularly in the Southeast- Atlantic region.
• Beach and fishery advisories and closures–or a lack thereof–disproportionately impacts Latinos. Latinos are among the most susceptible to health issues following visits to polluted beaches remaining open for recreation. Latino anglers and consumers, including subsistence fishers, are less likely to be aware of fishery advisories.
• Climate change poses an increasing threat to subsistence fishers, many of whom are immigrants, people of color, and/or low-income: causing damage to docks, shorelines, and vegetation; changing migratory patterns and loss of wildlife from damaged habitats, increasing temperatures, and ocean acidification; storms that damage or wash out access points to fishers; and increasing pollution.
• Reduced access to safe outdoor areas contributes to nature-deficit disorder, limits opportunities for exercise and may present obstacles to doctor-prescribed outdoor recreation.
• Systemic and environmental racism have caused poverty, economic instability, health challenges, and reduced access to social and political resources among many Latinos. This lack of resources puts coastal Latinos into an “elevated coastal hazard risk category” with increased vulnerability to the consequences of climate change.
• The ongoing loss of estuarine wetlands contributes to Latinos’ increased susceptibility to coastal hazards, including sea level rise and storms.

Latino Cultural Heritage and History

• Coastal sites throughout the U.S. safeguard and honor Latino heritage. Contemporary Latino culture also thrives at other sites, existing and emergent, fostering strong coastal communities and connection to place.
  • These sites include San Diego’s Friendship Park, Cumberland Island in Georgia, Chicago’s Paseo Boricua, Miami’s Jose Marti Riverfront Park, Padre Island National Seashore in Texas, Assateague Island in Maryland, San Juan Island in Washington, Monterey Bay in California, and many more.

Latino Recreation

• 4.4 million Latinos participate in fishing, averaging more outings per year than the general fishing population. 17% of Latinos participate in fishing, and 12% in boating.
• The Californian Latino beachgoer is typically a millennial parent with children visiting the beach as part of a large group. Their beach-going concerns are related to parking costs, overnight accommodations and the lack of public transportation options enabling their trips to the beach.
• In Oregon, half of the Latino population participates in coastal activities.
• Latino or Spanish-speaking people are enthusiastic visitors to parks in the Chesapeake Bay, and at some sites they comprise a significant proportion or majority of park users. At Maryland’s Sandy Point State Park, for example, a 2015 survey showed that 80% of users identified as Spanish-speaking but only 3% were aware of the facility’s nature programs.

Latino Jobs & Economy

• More data on the role Latinos play in the marine economy is needed, but it’s reasonable to infer the role is significant. The states with the largest Latino populations–California and Texas–are also the states with the greatest contributions to the U.S. ocean and coastal economy. Three of the top five largest states with Latinos–California, Florida and New York–are among the five largest contributors to ocean-based tourism and recreation.
• More than 18 million people in the U.S. visit estuary and coastal waters each year for recreation and tourism. Ocean-based tourism and recreation alone, contributes approximately $124 billion in GDP and 2.4 million jobs.
• Nationwide, the leisure and hospitality industry is 24% Hispanic and/or Latino. Nearly one third of workers in the U.S. construction industry are Hispanic and/or Latino; as marine construction is concentrated in California, Florida and Texas, Latinos are taking a large part in this ocean and Great Lakes economic sector.
• Latinos are 50% more likely to live in areas with the highest estimated increases in traffic delays due to coastal flooding.

Latino Public Opinion

• 83% of Latino voters in the West, and 89% in the Chesapeake region, support setting a national goal of conserving 30% of U.S. land, inland waters, and ocean by the year 2030 (known as 30x30).
• 89% of Latino voters in the Chesapeake region support the creation of new marine sanctuaries to protect ocean waters and wildlife.
• Relative to other demographics, Latinos are most likely to find the ocean very important for their emotional well-being.
• Latinos are 73% in agreement that the health of the ocean is essential to human survival.
• In California, Latinos are more likely than other adults to see plastics and marine debris as a big problem along their local coast, and view urban development as a big problem for wildlife habitats and endangered species.
• 62% of Latinos in California are in favor of wind and wave energy projects off the coast.