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 Hurricane Isabel swept over the small ribbon of an island in the Atlantic Ocean where I live. And with that OCEAN was born. I walked out into my
saltwater flooded yard, my front porch newly tilted by the wave that engulfed it, and looked at the sun shining on the water –– everywhere.
Big letters appeared in my head: OCEAN. That was it! The idea that had been stirring, that I could almost touch, almost materialize for several
years. I immediately went right to work producing the premier issue. Friends supported me upon receiving their surprise issue in the mail. They continue to subscribe to OCEAN, as do others who stumbled upon OCEAN and took it to heart, some since its very first issue, as more do with every ensuing issue, and become friends of OCEAN, become my friends.
OCEAN's contributors –– writers, photographers, supporters –– live throughout the United States, in every state, and in other countries such as Canada, England, Ireland, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden, Israel, Japan, Taiwan, and Indonesia. All love and respect the ocean and share OCEAN's desire to celebrate and protect the ocean and its creatures.
OCEAN was founded in 2004 with OCEAN Magazine. OCEAN Photography, a beautiful collection of photographs of the ocean, grew from that, as did OCEAN's Greeting Cards.
OCEAN's main office is in Rodanthe, on Hatteras Island, one of the chain of islands making the North Carolina Outer Banks, and its secondary office is in Stamford, Connecticut along Long Island Sound. Its roots are from my time spent in, on, and by the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and it grows with every new person that comes to it.
Now you too, are a part of OCEAN.
Diane Buccheri, Publisher
My WINTER 2008 IINTERVIEW with Kathryn Magendie (www.kathrynmagendie.com) will give you insight into OCEAN:
 KATHRYN MAGENDIE: Diane, what motivated you to begin publishing OCEAN Magazine?
DIANE BUCCHERI: Love of the ocean, love of literature, love of all things beautiful and natural, and a desire to share this love, stimulate interest and passion
and education.
KM: Have there been times you’ve wanted to throw up your hands and say, “This is it, the last OCEAN I’ll publish!”
DB: Never!
KM: What have you learned about our oceans since becoming publishing editor of OCEAN Magazine?
DB: I have begun to learn just how intricately interconnected our lives, all lives and existence here on earth are by the ocean everywhere on earth. The
ocean’s vastness and power reaches into every moment here on earth, into everything here on earth. The ocean is largely responsible for all our weather. It’s
a force to be respected and revered, better understood and cooperated with.
KM: I agree! What have you learned about yourself?
DB: Just how little I can live with materially.
KM: What was it like to publish the first issue of OCEAN?
DB: It was a thrill! I knew I was embarking on a new adventure, one that I was determined to make a success and would learn a great deal from and one
that I was proud of but would require marketing experience that I would gain along the way, and tremendous perseverance.
KM: What kinds of changes have you seen to our oceans that worry you? And, what kinds of progress do you see that encourages you?
DB: Most of all, we are changing the ocean with pollution. Out of sight is out of existence. But not so! All of our trash ends up in the ocean—directly dumped
there or leached from the land. Every chemical that goes through our body or is put on our body ends up in the ocean. Every product we use ends up in the
ocean. It is broken down, leached, etc. and much of it evaporates with the ocean’s surface water, drawn into the atmosphere by the sun’s heat, collects in
clouds, and falls back down upon us.
Many of the ocean’s fish and plants and other creatures are suffocating, rotting alive, and living diseased because of our pollution. Populations are
dwindling fast. Seventy-five percent of the world’s predator fish and ninety percent of our commercially valuable fish are exploited, over-exploited, or
depleted. Seventy-five percent of the marine habitat has been destroyed by humans. And most of those swimming the ocean are smaller and less healthy
than their ancestors.
It is our rising awareness of the damage we are causing and the pain and disease we are creating that is most encouraging. Awareness will lead to change
in our practices.
KM: If you get no other message across to readers but one, what would that one message be?
DB: To protect the ocean through celebration of the ocean. Hence, OCEAN’s motto is “to celebrate and protect”. We need a healthy, thriving ocean for our
health, for our actual survival.
KM: I can see from your passionate answers the answer to this question, but I will ask anyway: what does the ocean mean to you? And, what does OCEAN
Magazine mean to you?
DB: To me, the ocean means vitality. Freedom. Adventure. Repetition and security. Foreverness. Hope. Timelessness within the constant, always changing
rhythm. Vastness. Beauty and innocence. Power and fragility. The wonder of life here on earth, of existence and growth and evolution.
For me, OCEAN Magazine is my way of sharing this with others. I have gotten to know so many people through OCEAN and have had so many very
meaningful exchanges with people since the first issue of OCEAN that gratify me and bring richness to every day. I am thrilled with some of their writings and
photographs.
KM: What kind of submissions are you looking for that you do not get enough of? And what do you get that you would like to see less, or none, of?
DB: I would like more high quality, deeply felt and deeply thoughtful, knowledge based or uniquely creative non-fiction writing.
KM: Your website reads, “And, the world’s ocean is presently a 20.9 trillion dollar economy.” In what way(s)? Do you mean this in a positive way, a negative
way, or is it both?
DB: It is a fact, and one that I find interesting and stunning at once. I state this fact to bring a truth to our recognition. We forget that we rely upon the ocean and its resources so much, or we never realized our dependence and use of the ocean and its resources. Heck, so many of our foods have seaweed products in them for consistency. Chemicals from the ocean are medically valuable. Ocean fishing, recreation, transportation, mining, and research, just to name a few, are huge industries. I make the statement on OCEAN’s website to awaken readers to the fact that we get so much from the ocean. For its yield to be healthy, we need to respect it and treat it responsibly.
KM: Diane, how can we help our oceans?
DB: We can help our oceans by learning how to consume less, therefore create less waste, and by learning how to consume in a way that we nourish the earth and the ocean with our waste, as nature has always done. If we understand nature’s ways better and live within her system of growth, decay, and re-growth through regeneration, we can live healthier, more productive, fulfilling lives.
KM: And how do we harm our oceans?
DB: With our materialism and types of technology which lead to consumption which leads to waste, which leads to filth, which leads to illness and destruction. These are general terms. Specifically, for example, more bottles from bottled water end up in the ocean than are recycled or reused. Plastic only breaks down to a certain extent. There is so much plastic in the ocean that plastic particles are showing up in the genes of fish!
KM: This is scary. And I’ve been guilty of frequent water bottle use! Awareness is changing that for me. Diane, what are you most proud of in regards to OCEAN Magazine?
DB: It has drawn together so many people of all ages from all around the United States and the world in the spirit of love and compassion, sharing creativity and knowledge.
It’s all about beauty and love — and that ripples out to its readers — just as a smile touches one person and happiness is passed from one person to the next, to the next, its simplicity touching the soul.
KM: I feel a part of that, and I thank you for it! So, how do readers subscribe to OCEAN?
DB: At www.OceanMag.org through its online store, or by calling me at 252-256-2296, or by mailing a check to OCEAN, P.O. Box 84, Rodanthe, NC 27968. In the U.S. it costs $19.50 plus $6.50 for mailing.
KM: Thank you, Diane, for taking time to interview with me, and for the work that you do.
DB: Thank you Kat for this opportunity, and for your terrific contributions to OCEAN Magazine. You are a fine, sensitive lover of nature as well as a fine, sensitive writer.
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